A kidnapping victim was fatally shot by an FBI agent during a raid Thursday at a Houston home.
Police in Conroe, Texas, which is 40 miles north of Houston, confirmed the man had been kidnapped and held for ransom.
The victim was identified by local media outlets as 47-year-old Ulises Valladares.
“The system failed,” Conroe Police Chief Philip Dupuis said. “Whether it was accidental or not, the man is not going home to his family.”
Two men broke into a home in Conroe and abducted Valladares, according to cops. His 12-year-old son called police, who called the FBI.
The boy told police that the men said that his uncle, who was not there at the time, owed them $8,000, according to Click 2 Houston.
The uncle later received a phone call from someone speaking Spanish and claiming to be part of a Mexican drug cartel called “El Cartel Del Golfo,” according to the station. The person on the phone asked for $20,000 in exchange for Valladares’ safe return, cops said.
When the uncle said he did not have the money, he was told to “figure it out,” according to Click 2 Houston.
The uncle denied owing the money, but kidnappers were apparently looking for him, not the victim, according to KHOU.
Cellphone signals led authorities to a motel where two male suspects were found. The suspects pointed cops and FBI agents to a house in Houston where another suspect, a woman, was located along with the man who was being held captive.
Cops say it is not clear what led to the gunfire. Sources told Click 2 Houston that agents accidentally shot Valladares. He died later at a hospital.
“I have no idea what would be going on in that house,” neighbor Monique McKnight told KHOU. “A lot of times they didn’t have utilities. The lights weren’t on, so I don’t know how they were living.”
“This is a shame,” another neighbor told the station. “This is disgraceful. This makes our community look horrible.”
Another local resident said the FBI knocked on her door.
“I said, ‘What’s going on?’ And they just looked at me,” Sharon Ettinoffe told Fox 26. “They said it was a police-involved shooting and your neighborhood will be a lot safer now.”
The agent who fired the fatal shot is on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Nicholas Cunningham, Jimmy Sanchez and Sophia Perez Heath were charged with aggravated kidnapping. The male suspects were also charged with aggravated robbery.
Cunningham is married to a relative of the uncle, according to Click 2 Houston.
All three suspects appeared in court Friday morning. Cunningham and Sanchez were denied bond, according to Click 2 Houston, and Heath’s bond was set at $1 million. She must wear an ankle monitor if she posts bond.
The suspects still might face capital murder charges.
“Even though it appears one possibility is friendly fire, the kidnappers put this into play, so they’re ultimately responsible for the outcome,” Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said, according to Fox 26. “Regardless if this was intentional or not, under the felony murder rule, we can charge that.”
With News Wire Services
