RAPID CITY, SD – A brazen kidnapping of an FBI employee has landed three individuals lengthy federal prison sentences. Deyvin Morales, 29, of Guatemala, Juan Francisco Alvarez-Sorto, 25, of El Salvador, and Karla Lopez-Gutierrez, 29, of Kersey, Colorado, were sentenced this month after a harrowing ordeal that unfolded in the Badlands of South Dakota. The trio terrorized a federal agent, holding him captive at gunpoint for over half an hour.
U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier didn’t mince words, calling the defendants’ actions “among the most horrendous crimes” she’d ever seen. The sentences handed down reflect that sentiment: Deyvin Morales received 47 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Juan Francisco Alvarez-Sorto will spend 35 years behind bars, also with five years of supervised release. Karla Lopez-Gutierrez faces 26 ½ years in prison, followed by the same five-year supervised release period.
The ordeal began on May 5, 2022, when Alvarez, Morales, and Lopez traveled from Greeley, Colorado, intending to traffic methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin into South Dakota. Their plans quickly derailed when they were spotted by a South Dakota Highway Patrol officer, leading to a high-speed chase. Evading capture, the trio hid in a remote area near Red Shirt, South Dakota, and hatched a desperate plan: carjack the next vehicle that came along.
That vehicle belonged to an FBI Victim Specialist returning from a crime scene investigation near Oglala, South Dakota, around 2:00 a.m. on May 6, 2022. As the agent drove north on BIA Highway 41, near the Badlands overlook, the defendants ambushed him, seizing his vehicle and holding him hostage. The victim endured over 30 minutes of terror before authorities could intervene. The defendants were initially indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2022. Lopez-Gutierrez pleaded guilty to Kidnapping and Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence on August 17, 2023. Alvarez and Morales were re-indicted in December 2023, and found guilty after a federal trial on January 23, 2024. The charges included Kidnapping, Carjacking, Brandishing a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, and Unlawful Reentry after Deportation.
“The victim in this case was faithfully performing his duties when he found himself at the center of an absolute nightmare — fighting for survival in the back of his own car after these callous defendants carjacked, kidnapped, and held the victim at gunpoint for more than thirty minutes,” stated U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “That men and women in law enforcement must face such profound risks to their lives while working to secure community safety is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. echoed Ramsdell’s sentiments, emphasizing the FBI’s commitment to protecting its personnel. “These sentences reaffirm the FBI’s steadfast commitment to protecting our personnel from acts of violence and intimidation,” he said. The case was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Dakota, and numerous other federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The message is clear: attacking federal law enforcement will be met with swift and severe justice.”
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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