Man killed 18-year-old American in Mexico as family tried to pay ransom, feds say
A man accused of killing of a U.S. citizen in Mexico is facing life in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Brian Alexis Patron Lopez, 23, from Tijuana, was convicted of multiple charges stemming from the 2020 death of an 18-year-old man, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a March 19 news release.
The guilty verdicts came after a seven-day trial in federal court.
McClatchy News reached out to Patron’s attorney March 20 and was awaiting a response.
The 18-year-old victim, identified only by his initials, was killed as “punishment for a dispute over a stolen load of methamphetamine that was supposed to have been smuggled into the United States,” according to prosecutors.
He was snatched from a Tijuana hotel in May 2020 and was beaten and tortured, prosecutors said.
Patron and co-conspirators demanded ransom from the 18-year-old’s family “ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 to methamphetamine,” according to prosecutors.
The day after the 18-year-old was abducted, “even as his family attempted to pay his ransom,” Patron fatally shot him in a remote area in Tijuana, prosecutors said.
Patron “took over (the) kidnapping and ultimately shot (the 18-year-old) to up his status in the drug trafficking organization,” prosecutors said in a court filing.
Patron was found guilty of intentional killing while engaged in drug trafficking, along with conspiracy to take hostages resulting in death and hostage taking resulting in death, prosecutors said.
He faces 20 years to life in prison for the first charge and life in prison for the two other charges, according to prosecutors.
He’s expected to be sentenced in July.
Four other people are waiting to be sentenced in connection with their roles, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
San Diego FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy described the hostage-taking and killing as “ruthless, vicious, and violent,” according to the release.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy, where a young man lost his life, leaving his family shattered,” Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden added in the release. “Drug traffickers are ruthless and will stop at nothing.”
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