Search This Blog

Thursday, August 3, 2023

Mexican National Sentenced to Life in Prison for Kidnapping

 PRESS RELEASE


KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jonathan M. Bravo-Lopez (also known as “Jonathan Vravo,” and “Shadow”), 27, a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to life in federal prison for conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in death. Bravo-Lopez was also sentenced to 24 months for unlawful reentry, which the court ordered to be served consecutive to the life sentences.

On Dec. 16, 2022, Bravo-Lopez and co-defendant Juan D. Osorio (also known as “Spexx”), 30, also a citizen of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., were found guilty at trial of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping resulting in death. Osorio was also found guilty of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Bravo-Lopez was also found guilty of illegally reentering the United States after having been deported in 2016.

Osorio was sentenced on June 20, 2023, to life in federal prison without parole.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Osorio and Bravo-Lopez conspired to kidnap Cristian Escutia in an attempt to rob him of money. They transported Escutia across state lines from Missouri to Kansas before fatally shooting him on April 3, 2017.

Osorio and Bravo-Lopez arranged to purchase $300 of marijuana from Escutia as a ruse to lure him into their kidnapping plan. On April 3, 2017, they met Escutia outside his residence and forced him into their vehicle, a Chrysler Pacifica, at gunpoint. Co-defendant Marco A. Sosa-Perea, 27, of Kansas City, Mo., who had remained in the car, drove them away from the scene of the kidnapping. The kidnapping was captured by the video surveillance system outside a nearby residence. When they drove to the 200 block of Donovan Road in Kansas City, Kan., they forced Escutia out of the vehicle. Escutia was shot three times and left to die on the side of the road.

Osorio, who is in the United States unlawfully, was in possession of an Action Arms Uzi .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol when he was arrested on April 7, 2017.

Sosa-Perea was sentenced on Feb. 6, 2023, to 10 years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the kidnapping conspiracy.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick C. Edwards and Matthew A. Moeder. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.

Updated July 26, 2023

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.