SALIDA, Calif. — Three men from Modesto are in custody after they allegedly kidnapped a Wisconsin man on a business trip to California.
According to a news release from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, it happened Monday.
The release says a deputy was on patrol in Salida when he stopped a vehicle for code violations and one of the people inside seemed scared.
The deputy asked the man to get out of the car so he could talk to him at which time the man said he was being held hostage by the other people in the vehicle, who were immediately detained.
The man told the deputy he flew to California from Wisconsin for business. Upon his arrival in Modesto, he met with 21-year-old Luis Ceballos and they started driving around.
The release says Ceballos drove the victim to a dead-end road in the county and then a second vehicle arrived. Two men allegedly chased him down, beat him and demanded money from him.
At some point, the group called his family and demanded ransom money, which they received via an electronic transfer.
The victim was taken to the doctor where he was treated for bruising and a fractured nose. He is now back home in Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, Ceballos and two other men – 25-year-old Jesus Garcia and 21-year-old Luis Garcia – were booked on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment, conspiracy, extortion and battery with bodily injury.
