Press Release
MIAMI MOTHER AND TWO OTHERS CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING
April 13, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, Sheriff Al Lamberti, Broward Sheriff’s Office, and Director Robert L. Parker, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced today that defendants Alejandra Arriaza, Angel Ponce, and Joel Boza, all of Miami, were charged with kidnapping, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1201. The three were arrested and made their initial appearance in federal court today. A detention hearing is scheduled before Magistrate Judge Patrick A. White on Wednesday, April 15, 2009. Arraignment on the charges is scheduled for April 27, 2009. If convicted, each defendant faces a possible sentence of up to life imprisonment.
According to the filed Complaint, on April 9, 2009, defendant Alejandra Arriaza, along with co-defendants Angel Ponce and Joel Boza, planned her own kidnapping and that of her seventeen year old son (N.P.). Pursuant to the kidnapping plan, Ponce and Boza would act as the kidnappers, and demand the payment of ransom from Arriaza’s ex-husband, and father to N.P., for the release of Arriaza and N.P. To execute the kidnapping plan, Arriaza lured N.P. away from his father by promising to buy him an iPhone.
The Complaint alleges that Arriaza drove N.P. to a Wal-Mart store, leaving her car unlocked to facilitate Ponce’s entry into the car. After Arriaza and her son left the store and drove away, defendant Ponce was hiding in the back seat of the car. While the two were driving, Ponce got up, holding what appeared to be a gun, and announced the kidnapping. Ponce then used thick tape to close N.P.’s eyes. Alejandra Arriaza drove to Ponce’s house, where defendant Joel Boza tied N.P. to a chair and wrapped tape around N.P.’s head. The defendants then placed N.P. in a closet for the night. The next day, defendants Ponce and Boza purchased two cellular telephones, placed one inside defendant Arriaza’s ex-husband’s car, and used it to communicate their ransom demand to the ex-husband.
On April 10, 2009, Boza allegedly used a blow torch to threaten N.P. so that N.P. would communicate to his father the gravity of the situation. Boza placed the lit blow torch so close to N.P.’s leg that it burned off the hair. At all times, defendant Arriaza was actively participating in the kidnapping scheme.
As the kidnapping investigation progressed, the FBI, the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department located the house where N.P. was being held. Law enforcement entered the home and rescued N.P., as well as Alejandra Arriaza. All the defendants, including Arriaza, admitted their involvement in the kidnapping scheme.
U.S. Attorney Acosta commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, and the Miami-Dade Police Department for their joint efforts in this case. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Gilfarb.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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