SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury convicted 36-year-old Agustin Sergio Deleon Garza for his role in the kidnapping of a Mexican businessman in December 2013, officials said.
The jury on Thursday found Deleon Garza guilty of one count of conspiracy to kidnap; one count of aiding and abetting kidnapping; two counts of receipt of ransom money; one count of interstate communication of ransom; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering; and, one count of aiding and abetting money laundering.
The evidence indicated the following:
On December 27, 2013, Jorge Luis Martin Cavazos Cantu was kidnapped from his Monterrey, Mexico residence by several men.
While Cantu was in the custody of his abductors in Mexico, Deleon Garza placed several phone calls from Bexar County to Cantu’s family seeking ransom.
In each call, officials said Deleon Garza used a cellphone app which disguised his voice and his location. Cantu was released on January 29, 2014, after a $75,000 ransom was paid.
Deleon Garza remains in federal custody pending sentencing on March 30 and is facing life in prison.