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Parker Canyon couple kidnapped by two illegal immigrants
ADAM BOROWITZ
Tucson Citizen
Sept. 12, 2002
A Parker Canyon Lake couple in their 70s were assaulted and kidnapped yesterday by two illegal immigrants demanding transportation north for themselves and four others, authorities said.
The man and his wife, both 73, were assaulted after they provided water for the illegal immigrants and agreed to prepare lunch for them in exchange for lawn work, said Carol A. Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
She did not identify the couple.
After the two men were fed, the woman heard a noise from her porch and stepped outside to investigate.
Once there, she was grabbed from behind and restrained while her mouth was taped shut, Capas said.
The woman broke free and demanded to know where her husband was, Capas said.
Her attacker then asked for the keys to the couple's 1995 GMC pickup.
She refused to surrender them until she saw her husband.
One of the men then led her to her husband, who was bleeding while being restrained on the ground by the second man.
Her husband had cuts and scrapes on his face and arms and later told authorities he had been beaten and then restrained for about a half hour, Capas said.
The woman told the men her husband needed medical attention and convinced them to help her load him into their truck, officials said.
One of the attackers then climbed into the front of the truck with the woman and her husband, while the other man climbed beneath the covered bed of the truck, Capas said.
One of the attackers then directed the woman to drive to a nearby RV park, where they picked up five more undocumented immigrants, who climbed into the truck's bed, officials said.
The woman told the men she was taking her husband to Sonoita for medical care.
She began flashing her headlights and tapping her brakes when she spotted a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle on Arizona 83, Capas said.
Capas said the agent noticed the lights and saw that the couple and their passenger were nervous, so he stopped the truck.
The man riding with the couple then jumped from the truck's cab and escaped on foot, officials said.
The other six immigrants, all frrom Mexico, were arrested by Border Patrol agents, Capas said.
Five of those apprehended were allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico.
The elderly man's alleged assailant, identified by authorities as Ricardo Paredes Vargas, of Mexico City, was arrested and booked into Cochise County Jail.
Vargas, 20, is charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. His bail was set today at $100,000, jail officials said.
The woman's husband was treated at the scene for his injuries.
Capas said the incident was rare and one of only a handful of similar incidents seen by her department.
"Several years ago we had issues as far as illegal immigrants doing home invasions and burglaries, but not in the Parker Canyon Lake area," she said. "This is definitely rare."
Parker Canyon couple kidnapped by two illegal immigrants
ADAM BOROWITZ
Tucson Citizen
Sept. 12, 2002
A Parker Canyon Lake couple in their 70s were assaulted and kidnapped yesterday by two illegal immigrants demanding transportation north for themselves and four others, authorities said.
The man and his wife, both 73, were assaulted after they provided water for the illegal immigrants and agreed to prepare lunch for them in exchange for lawn work, said Carol A. Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
She did not identify the couple.
After the two men were fed, the woman heard a noise from her porch and stepped outside to investigate.
Once there, she was grabbed from behind and restrained while her mouth was taped shut, Capas said.
The woman broke free and demanded to know where her husband was, Capas said.
Her attacker then asked for the keys to the couple's 1995 GMC pickup.
She refused to surrender them until she saw her husband.
One of the men then led her to her husband, who was bleeding while being restrained on the ground by the second man.
Her husband had cuts and scrapes on his face and arms and later told authorities he had been beaten and then restrained for about a half hour, Capas said.
The woman told the men her husband needed medical attention and convinced them to help her load him into their truck, officials said.
One of the attackers then climbed into the front of the truck with the woman and her husband, while the other man climbed beneath the covered bed of the truck, Capas said.
One of the attackers then directed the woman to drive to a nearby RV park, where they picked up five more undocumented immigrants, who climbed into the truck's bed, officials said.
The woman told the men she was taking her husband to Sonoita for medical care.
She began flashing her headlights and tapping her brakes when she spotted a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle on Arizona 83, Capas said.
Capas said the agent noticed the lights and saw that the couple and their passenger were nervous, so he stopped the truck.
The man riding with the couple then jumped from the truck's cab and escaped on foot, officials said.
The other six immigrants, all frrom Mexico, were arrested by Border Patrol agents, Capas said.
Five of those apprehended were allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico.
The elderly man's alleged assailant, identified by authorities as Ricardo Paredes Vargas, of Mexico City, was arrested and booked into Cochise County Jail.
Vargas, 20, is charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. His bail was set today at $100,000, jail officials said.
The woman's husband was treated at the scene for his injuries.
Capas said the incident was rare and one of only a handful of similar incidents seen by her department.
"Several years ago we had issues as far as illegal immigrants doing home invasions and burglaries, but not in the Parker Canyon Lake area," she said. "This is definitely rare."
