Texas cops nab ‘smugglers’ after they struck woman in a parking lot for failing to pay $6,000 ransom

Two ‘migrant smugglers’ are arrested for kidnapping a Honduran man in Texas and then mowing down his aunt with an SUV because she failed to pay $6,000 ransom

  • Ricardo Mejia and Amy Regalado, both of Falfurrias, Texas, were arrested Friday morning for kidnapping a 21-year-old Honduran migrant man
  • The pair has agreed to released the man to his aunt at Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg on Thursday night in exchange for a $6,000 payment
  • The man’s aunt was hit by the alleged smuggler’s Cadillac Escalade after the woman failed to come up with the payment
  • Mejia and Regalado were each charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault
  • The man told authorities that he had been crossed from Mexico to the United States a month ago and was then sold off between migrant smuggling rings

Authorities in Texas apprehended two suspected human smugglers after they allegedly kidnapped a migrant from Honduras and then ran over his aunt when she failed to pay a $6,000 ransom for his freedom.  

Ricardo Mejia and Amy Regalado, both of Falfurrias, Texas, were arrested on Friday by the Rosenberg Police Department for their alleged role in the kidnapping of an unidentified 21-year-old Honduran man. 

Police said the migrant had crossed the border into the US before being abandoned in southern Texas, where he wandered around for days before he came upon an individual at a gas station and requested assistance. 

The person the reached out to their family members, who reportedly were involved in the people smuggling business and decided to take in the Honduran migrant. They then reached out to his relatives and worked out a deal for his release in the Houston area.

Mejia and Regalado arranged for the exchange to take place in the parking lot of Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg on Thursday, police said. 

Amy Regalado, of Falfurrias, Texas, was arrested Friday morning for kidnapping a 21-year-old Honduran migrant man. She received a phone call from a family member who was approached by the migrant man at a gas station requesting help after he had been released by a smuggling ring. Regalado and her accomplice, Ricardo Mejia, agreed to turn over the man to his aunt in exchange for $6,000, Thursday night, but the deal went south when the woman failed to come up with the money. As they fled a mall parking lot, they struck the woman, but were caught about 90 minutes later. Regalado and her cohort have been charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault

Ricardo Mejia reportedly formed part of a migrant smuggling network in Texas. He was arrested for the aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault of a 21-year-old man from Honduras last Friday after a deal to release him to his family for $6,000 went wrong

Ricardo Mejia reportedly formed part of a migrant smuggling network in Texas. He was arrested for the aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault of a 21-year-old man from Honduras last Friday after a deal to release him to his family for $6,000 went wrong

However, the exchange was derailed when his aunt failed to come up with the cash.

The migrant smugglers sped off with the Honduran individual in tow and in the process of fleeing struck his aunt – who was not named – with their Cadillac Escalade approximately at 11.23pm.

The suspects fled the scene on US Highway 59, and were later intercepted by the Victoria County Sheriff’s Deputies about 90 minutes later.

Mejia and Regalado were taken into custody, and each charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault.

The Honduran migrant told authorities he has been crossed over the border a month ago and was looking to reunite with his family in New York.

Mejia and Regalado arranged for the exchange to take place in the parking lot of Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg (pictured) on Thursday, police said

Mejia and Regalado arranged for the exchange to take place in the parking lot of Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg (pictured) on Thursday, police said

Rosenberg Police Department investigators learned that after making it into the United States, he ‘was ultimately sold between groups of smugglers’ while being moved from one stash house to the next.

The last smuggling ring that held him in captivity decided to release him over fears of local police presence in the area. 

‘Local law enforcement agencies did an outstanding job putting a stop to a criminal episode that spanned international borders. It is shameful in this day and age, in a country that leads the free world, to have people bought and sold like animals,’ Rosenberg Police Department assistant chief Jarret Nethery said in a statement.

‘The most significant aspect of this tragedy is that this young man escaped, reached out for help, and was returned to captivity. This is the definition of evil.’

DailyMail.com reached out to the Honduras Consul General in New York for comment. 

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