A Deming resident has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his involvement in a kidnapping and firearms case.
Jessie Hopper, Jr., 31, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced to 120 months in prison for his conviction on conspiracy, kidnapping and firearms charges. He will also serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
This case is a culmination of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets ‘the worst of the worst’ offenders based primarily on their criminal histories for federal prosecution. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies worked with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution.
The Hoppers were arrested in June 2014 on a federal criminal complaint charging them with kidnapping and firearms charges. They were subsequently charged with conspiracy and kidnapping in a six-count indictment filed in May 2014. Hopper, Jr., entered a guilty plea to the five charges against him on Nov. 21, 2014.
Hopper, Sr., and Polly Hopper, Hopper, Jr.’s parents, elected to go to trial, and on Feb. 27, 2015, a federal jury returned a verdict finding the two guilty on all charges against them after a five-day trial.
The evidence at trial established that Hopper, Jr., and Hopper, Sr., kidnapped the victim in Hot Springs, Ark., on May 8, 2014, with the assistance of Polly Hopper. Hopper, Jr., handcuffed the victim and a firearm was brandished at the victim to force her to comply with Hopper, Jr.’s demands, including a demand that she telephone family members to assure them that she was voluntarily leaving Arkansas with Hopper, Jr. On May 8 and 9, 2014, the defendants drove the victim from Arkansas to the defendants’ residence in Deming, where Hopper, Jr., and Hopper Sr., sexually assaulted the victim several times.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Mexico State Police and the Luna County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for the State of New Mexico. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy M. Castellano and Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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