2nd Teen Charged in Kidnapping Migrants in Houston

HOUSTON (AP) — A second teenager has been charged with kidnapping a number of migrants and allegedly holding them captive for a number of days at a Houston lodge earlier than they were rescued by FBI agents during a confrontation that ended with the deadly capturing of one other suspect, authorities stated Monday.

Demarcus Celestine, 17, was charged on Saturday with three counts of aggravated kidnapping, in response to courtroom data.

His arrest was made public on Monday by a tweet from the FBI’s Houston workplace, which stated Celestine had been arrested by FBI brokers and the Harris County Sheriff’s Workplace in Houston.

Celestine, who appeared in courtroom Monday, remained jailed on bonds totaling $300,000.

An legal professional for Celestine didn’t instantly return a name or an e-mail in search of remark.

Authorities allege the kidnapping started March 18 in neighboring Waller County when three migrants who had been touring on Interstate 10 had been stopped and compelled from a car.

The migrants’ driver may need known as 911 and knowledgeable the Waller County Sheriff’s Workplace concerning the kidnapping, authorities stated. The sheriff’s workplace later labored with the FBI to search out the migrants.

Prosecutors allege Celestine took the migrants — two ladies and one man — at gunpoint to the north Houston lodge, “the place he held (them) below risk of demise by firearm, sending messages to members of the family to deliver cash in trade for his or her launch,” in response to courtroom data.

Celestine is accused, together with two different suspects, of “utilizing bodily violence” in opposition to the migrants as they had been held for a number of days.

An individual aware of the matter beforehand informed The Related Press that the abductors had been paid after making calls for for cash, however then requested for extra money. The particular person, who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to debate the case publicly, additionally stated the abductors at one level despatched the household of one of many migrants, all of whom had crossed into the U.S. illegally from Mexico, a video exhibiting them beating an older man.

On March 23, 5 days after the migrants had been kidnapped, FBI brokers rescued the migrants from the lodge. One of many suspects, later recognized as Alberto Montes II, 20, was fatally shot. Montes’ dad and mom told KTRK earlier this month they’re nonetheless in search of solutions from authorities about why their son was fatally shot. The FBI’s investigation of the capturing stays ongoing, stated company spokesperson Connor Hagan.

Related Press reporter Jake Bleiberg contributed to this report from Dallas.

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