IIMPACT Detectives rescue 11 people who were being held hostage at gunpoint inside of Phoenix home

On Thursday, October 1, 2009, Detectives from the Illegal Immigration Prevention and Apprehension Team (IIMPACT) rescued 11 undocumented aliens from a Phoenix area home and arrested one suspect. The IIMPACT Unit mission and participating agencies are listed at the end of this news release.

IIMPACT Detectives conducted an investigation which resulted from information received from the Phoenix Police Department. Phoenix PD received a 9-1-1 phone call, around 2:00 p.m., from a male who stated he was in fear for his life and that there were about 15 other immigrants being held hostage by three armed gunmen at a yellow house in Phoenix. The caller was only able to stay on the phone for a very short time before the line was disconnected.

Phoenix PD Officers attempted to locate the house even though the location information was very limited. Around 5:27 p.m., Phoenix PD received another 9-1-1 phone call from the same person who called earlier at 2:00 p.m. This time the caller was able to provide more information about the description of the house and the area which led to the officers locating the residence at 4324 North 85^th Avenue in Phoenix.

Officers knocked on the door and, at the same time, the suspect attempted to flee from the residence on foot. However, the suspect stopped and ran back inside when he observed that police officers were surrounding the perimeter of the house. The on scene officers requested the assistance of the Phoenix PD Special Assistance Unit (SAU) and IIMPACT Detectives.

Just before SAU personnel were going to conduct entry, several of the victims started to walk out of the front door. The suspect attempted to hide himself within the group victims. SAU personnel conducted entry on the residence and a total of 12 individuals that were inside the house were detained.

Detectives were able to determine from the initial interviews that all 12 individuals being detained were undocumented aliens from Mexico with 11 of them tentatively classified as victims and one identified as the suspected human smuggler. It is common for the suspects to try and blend in with the victims in an attempt to avoid detection. It is through the interrogation and interviewing skills of the IIMPACT Detectives that the suspects are distinguished from the victims. There were initially three suspects and, according to the victims, two of them left the residence prior to the police arrival.

Detectives further determined the three armed suspects used intimidation and threats of physical violence with the use of firearms to carry out the kidnapping and extortion. The house had fortified windows to prevent escape of the victims which indicated it had been used before as a place to hold and intimidate victims. It is believed the victims were held at the 85^th Avenue address for at least a day or more. They paid $800 each to illegally enter the United States and described their journey across the border to the Phoenix area taking about three days with the initial crossing of the desert on foot, then being picked up by a truck in the middle of the night and then taken to a motel before arriving at the 85^th Avenue residence.

Once they were at the 85^th Avenue residence, the Coyotes (suspects) demanded more money and threatened to strip the victims naked and leave them in the desert if their families did not pay the ransom money. In addition, they were threatened with being shot if they attempted to escape.

One of the victims was a female who was about seven months pregnant and complained of pain and discomfort complications relating to her pregnancy. The female stated she was extremely scared and stressed as a result of being threatened and being held captive at gunpoint which is assumed to have caused the high anxiety and pregnancy complications. The pregnant female is the spouse of the individual who made the two 9-1-1 phone calls. Phoenix Fire Department medical personnel treated the female on scene and had her transported to an area hospital for further examination and treatment.

Ten of the undocumented aliens were turned over to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) for processing and disposition. The pregnant female remains in the hospital.

The suspect was identified as Augustin Valencia-Rodriguez and he was booked into the Maricopa County Fourth Avenue Jail and charged with kidnapping, extortion and human smuggling.

Photos of the 4324 North 85^th Avenue residence can be viewed by clicking on the link:

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IIMPACT is a multi-agency unit composed of personnel from the Phoenix Police Department (PPD), U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Arizona Fraudulent Identification Task Force (AFIT) and the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). IIMPACT was formed over a year ago and is a project managed by the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GIITEM), a multi-agency task force administered by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. IIMPACT was designed to investigate crimes involving extreme violence; such as kidnapping, rape, homicide, assault, extortion, home invasions, hi-jacking and the overall disregard for human life associated with the serious problems of human smuggling. The overall goal of IIMPACT is to make Arizona communities safer by deterring, disrupting and dismantling the human smuggling criminal organizations through the apprehension and prosecution of those involved.