Eight Charged in Philly Business Owner’s Murder-Kidnapping

Eight suspects stand accused of one of the most brutal kidnappings in recent Philadelphia history—the 2018 abduction and murder of a North Philadelphia business owner whose final moments were marked by terror, duct tape, and gunfire. The victim, dragged from his home on June 19, 2018, was bound with handcuffs, zip ties, and tape before being driven across Pennsylvania and ultimately executed. His body was later dumped in Cecil County, Maryland, sparking a multi-state manhunt that has now led to federal charges.

The indictment unsealed today names Ivan Rangel Prieto, 34, of Asheboro, North Carolina; Jose Castillo, 44, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jose Bernal, 30, of Newark, Delaware; Jose Delgado, 40, of Warminster, Pennsylvania; Salvador Sanchez Guerrero, 47, of Philadelphia; Robert Favors, 39, of Philadelphia; John Perkins, 31, of Philadelphia; and Fermín Perez Mejia, 35, of Norristown, Pennsylvania—all charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Seven of them—Rangel Prieto, Castillo, Bernal, Delgado, Sanchez Guerrero, Favors, and Perkins—are also charged with the actual kidnapping. Five, including Rangel Prieto, Castillo, Bernal, Delgado, and Sanchez Guerrero, face firearms charges for using a weapon during a crime of violence.

Ransom calls demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars were made to the victim’s wife and an associate during his captivity. The victim was transported to Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he was shot and killed mid-kidnapping. Federal prosecutors allege a coordinated, ruthless act of extortion that spiraled into cold-blooded murder. U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain called the defendants a threat to the entire mid-Atlantic region, vowing that such extreme violence would not go unanswered. “This indictment reflects our Office’s steadfast commitment to rid the streets of people who resort to intimidation and extreme violence,” McSwain said.

FBI Philadelphia’s Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Harpster condemned the group’s actions as pure savagery. “Just imagine the terror of being kidnapped, restrained, and at the total mercy of armed criminals,” Harpster said. “The FBI will never stop working to make our communities safer from violent thugs who care nothing for the lives of others.” The investigation spanned state lines and law enforcement jurisdictions, involving the FBI, Philadelphia Police, Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, Southern Chester County Regional Police, and Plymouth Township Police.

If convicted, Rangel Prieto, Castillo, Bernal, Delgado, Sanchez Guerrero, Favors, and Perkins face a mandatory sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of the death penalty under federal law. Perez Mejia, charged only with conspiracy, faces a maximum of life imprisonment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda R. Reinitz and Everett Witherell. Authorities also extended thanks to FBI Albuquerque, New Mexico State Police, Farmington Police, and FBI Charlotte-Greensboro Resident Agency for critical support.

An indictment is not a conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But the evidence, as laid out in federal court, paints a grim picture of greed, violence, and betrayal that ended in murder for ransom. The grim trajectory—from abduction to dumping ground—reveals the brutal reality of violent crime that federal prosecutors are now determined to punish to the fullest extent of the law.

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