Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Luring Teen to Mexico for Ransom Kidnapping

A Texas man pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to luring a teen to Mexico where he and other gunmen kidnapped him and tortured him while demanding ransom from his family. The Texas man also has a long criminal history tying him to a deadly home invasion and numerous robberies.

This week, Sixto Gonzalez Jr. appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo and pleaded guilty to one count of hostage-taking. He is scheduled for a sentencing hearing in August when he faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, on June 23, 2021, Gonzalez lured a 19-year-old man from Alamo, Texas, to go with him to Mexico for a job opportunity. Both men walked into Reynosa toward a house where a group of gunmen and Gonzalez beat and restrained the victim. The gunmen contacted the victim’s family demanding $5,000 (USD) and a firearm in exchange for his return.

Federal prosecutors claim that when the relatives could not get the money, Gonzalez sent them a video showing gunmen using a wooden paddle to beat the victim until they broke it.

On June 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested Gonzalez at the Hidalgo-Reynosa port of entry on allegations that he had violated federal probation in connection with another case. On June 25, Mexican authorities raided the house where the victim was being kept and found him bound with zip ties and covered with a blanket.

According to a news report from KVEO, Gonzalez and Derrick Medica were connected to a deadly home invasion in Pharr on June 18, 2021, where one man died and another one sustained various injuries.

County court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed that in addition to the 2021 home invasion, Gonzalez has three other prior arrests for aggravated robberies and various assault charges.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.