CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A federal grand jury has indicted two Texas men on charges related to a kidnapping and fatal shooting in the Belmont neighborhood in January 2023. Ricardo Franco-Ordaz, 26, of Cedar Creek, Texas, and Jordan Joseph Perez, 20, of Lockhart, Texas, were arrested this week in connection with the case. Both face multiple charges, including conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, and conspiracy to transport an alien resulting in death.

According to court documents, Franco-Ordaz and Perez were part of a larger group involved in a scheme to kidnap individuals for ransom. In early January 2023, Franco-Ordaz allegedly coordinated the transportation of victims from an area near the U.S.-Mexico border to Texas, where they were held against their will. The victims’ families were contacted, and ransom payments were demanded for their release.

The indictment reveals that one victim was released in Texas after a $5,000 payment. However, on January 8, 2023, Perez and another co-conspirator transported a second victim to Charlottesville, where they arranged to exchange the individual for $10,000. When it became apparent that the full amount was not available, a confrontation ensued, leading to a shootout that resulted in the death of one of the kidnappers.

The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, which aims to disrupt high-level criminal organizations involved in activities such as drug trafficking and money laundering. The investigation is being led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, with assistance from the Charlottesville Police Department, Albemarle County Police Department, and HSI Austin, Texas.

The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.

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Original Release from Western District Attorney’s Office:

Men at Center of Kidnapping and Smuggling Conspiracy Arrested

Defendants Kidnapped Two Women, Demanded Ransom, Instigated Shootout in Charlottesville’s Belmont Neighborhood

CHARLOTTESVILLE – A federal grand jury returned an indictment last week charging a pair of men with federal conspiracy and kidnapping charges stemming from a fatal shooting in Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood in January of 2023.

Ricardo Franco-Ordaz, 26, of Cedar Creek, Texas, and Jordan Joseph Perez, 20, of Lockhart, Texas, were arrested this week in Texas. Each is charged with one count of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to transport an alien resulting in death, transporting an alien resulting in death, and conspiracy to receive money in connection with a kidnapping.

According to court documents, in early January of 2023, Franco-Ordaz, Perez, and other co-conspirators planned the kidnapping of multiple victims for ransom. In furtherance of their kidnapping and extortion scheme, they transported victims from Texas to Virginia, where subsequently, an argument and shootout arose that resulted in the death of a member of the criminal organization.

As part of the scheme, Franco-Ordaz arranged to pick up two victims from an area near the United States-Mexico border and bring them to a house near Austin, Texas. Once there, Ordaz, and others, held both victims against their will and under armed guard, then called and messaged the victims’ family and friends demanding cash in exchange for their release.

Franco-Ordaz exchanged one of the victims in Texas for $5,000 cash, and on January 8, 2023, Perez and another co-conspirator transported another victim to Charlottesville, Virginia where they arranged to exchange that victim for $10,000 in cash. However, when the exchange was set to occur, it was revealed that the full $10,000 was not available. Subsequently, an argument and shootout arose that resulted in the death of one of the kidnappers.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations in Harrisonburg, Virginia is investigating the case with assistance from the Charlottesville Police Department, Albemarle County Police Department and HSI Austin, Texas.

The investigation, extradition, and conviction of these defendants is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie Smith and Sally J. Sullivan are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.