Web posted
Friday, February 29, 2008
Kidnapping charges reduced
By MICK WATTS
Traveler Staff Writer
mick@arkcity.net
Two men arrested in January for allegedly kidnapping two others from a parked car at Wal-Mart in Ark City pleaded to lesser charge of aggravated assault.
County Attorney Chris Smith said the men each pleaded to two counts of aggravated assault, level seven felonies that carry a possible sentence of 11 to 34 months. Sentencing is scheduled for March 6.
The original kidnapping charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence, he said. The suspects told police the incident was meant to be a joke among friends.
Juan Carreto, 30, and Amarildp Estrada, 19, both from Guatemala, held a man and woman at knife point after they hid in their car while the couple was shopping at Wal-Mart.
The couple was then forced to drive Carreto and Estrada to Riverside Cemetery on 15th and Ash. The male victim struggled, receiving a knife wound to the hand, he then fled on foot.
The suspects crashed the car into the cemetery's stone wall and fled. Police tracked one of the men to Meadowwalk apartments. Both men later confessed to the incident but told police that it was a joke. Police said the victims felt under threat and didn't consider it a joke, which led to the charges.
The individuals have no priors and could receive probation under state sentencing laws. They are Guatemalan citizens and an immigration hold has been put on them by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), which means that they cannot be released from custody, Smith said.
He said that a probationary sentence would put the offenders into the hands of the federal government. While he could not state with certainty how they would be dealt with, his assumption was that, given probationary sentences, the individuals would be deported.
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