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Web posted
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Guatemalan men sentenced for local kidnapping
Two men arrested in January for allegedly kidnapping two others from a parked car at Wal-Mart in Arkansas City are slated for deportation after they were sentenced Thursday.
Cowley County District Court Judge Jim Pringle sentenced the two men in Cowley County District Court to two years prison time each.
They are Juan Carreto, 30, and Amarildp Estrada, 19, both from Guatemala.
Because of sentencing guidelines, the men were to be put on probation for two years on condition they served 60 days in the County Jail, said County Attorney Chris Smith. Carreto and Estrada have no priors.
Whether or not the men serve any jail time before being deported is up to ICE, Immigration Customs Enforcement, Smith said.
"They could deport them immediately," he said.
The two men are Guatemalan citizens and an immigration hold was put on them by ICE, Smith said. That means that they cannot be released from custody.
The men each pleaded to two counts of aggravated assault. The original kidnapping charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence, he said.
Carreto and Estrada held a man and woman at knife point after they hid in their car while the couple was shopping at Wal-Mart, authorities said.
The couple was then forced to drive Carreto and Estrada to Riverside Cemetery. 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.
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