Man smuggled into country, held hostage for money in Redlands
Redlands police arrested a woman Sunday on suspicion of extortion and other crimes after a 53-year-old man was smuggled into the country from Mexico and held hostage, officials said.
The man was not hurt.
The woman, 31-year-old Tijuana resident Maria Garcia, allegedly brought a 53-year-old man from Mexico Saturday and demanded money from his family, according to a Redlands police news release.
On Sunday, a Big Bear-area pastor called Redlands Police around 8:30 p.m. to report that a smuggler had called one of his parishioners to say the parishioner's cousin was being held hostage and to demand money.
The smugglers and the family were supposed to meet in Redlands to exchange the man for the money, but the smugglers changed the location a number of times.
The family was in contact with the police, and at about 10:45 p.m., officers in unmarked cars found a 2002 Toyota in the parking lot of El Pollo Loco at Tennessee Street and Colton Avenue that appeared to be the vehicle holding the 53-year-old man.
Uniformed officers then went to the scene, where they arrested Garcia. She was taken to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
The man was freed.
Police are still looking for another woman who they say arranged the exchange.
Anyone with information should call dispatch at (909) 798-7681.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will investigate the case.
why didnt they send the mexican back to his country
Illegals doing more illegal activity, what a surprise. Why don't they give them both a free ride home?? Send them back!! They're used to free handouts from the US anyways...
What ignorant comments. First of all if you pay attention to all the bums begging for money on the side of the freeway, you will see they are WHITE. The welfare office full of them. Open your eyes we are working and providing for this country, and we are now a MAJORITY.
YEAH!!! mexicans rock the usa...
:)
i love it......
the more u send back
the more come over
its a none stop kind of thing..
dont u people get it....???????
Whats the use of sending the mexican back when they'll just come back? Illegals commit alot of crime in CA. Illegals have nothing to lose.
you are right most of the bums begging on the freeway offramps are white but they are legal bums, not here illegally and at some time they worked for the system or their family did.so someone paid their dues..
I AGREE SEND THE WHITES BACK TO EUROPE,BLACKS BACK TO AFRICA,ASIAN'S TO ASIA AND THE MEXICAN'S ARE HOME ALREADY.
You people are sick. Why does it have to become a racist attack? Cant any of you say anything educated? You are just as bad as those "illegal mexicans" thinking that any piece of this world belongs to anyone. This is Gods land, home of the FREE. Get over it or get out there and educate yourselves and learn how to improve things without bashing people and passing the racism on to your offspring. I worry a great deal about the future America being influenced by the hate that "adults" spew all over the internet. Horrible.
yes sir but neither the article nor the messages posted mentioned anything about the color of the people involved they both merely mentioned their country of origin as well as their immigration status. The race card is too easily and too quickly pulled in all situations even in cases like this one where the truth is laid out in plain writing and the unanswered ? of why was he let free is a legitimate one that people deserve to know the answer to. So don't worry so much about whether the bums are white or the man freed is brown but question their right to break the law and get away with it last I checked being a bum is not illegal. And loyalty should really be evaluated because in reality if you are a fellow American (not a certain color) then your brother and countryman is the bum asking for change and not the illegal being freed that is from a different country that would not afford you the same or even similar rights that we do as Americans,and if the belief of that claim still is difficult to accept then please research the two different news articles concerning the deaths of two Hispanic-American, United States Marines that were killed last week in the country of Mexico both incidents unrelated to each other. So leave the race card in the deck because if pulled improperly it can leave you looking like the joker. God Bless America!