Seven Colombian nationals were extradited to the United States to face charges relating to the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson.
Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 39; Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27; Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27; Hector Leonardo Lopez, 34; Julio Estiven Gracia Ramirez, 31; Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 22, and Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 31, were each charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of kidnapping, and one count of conspiracy to kidnap.
Oviedo-Garcia was also charged with two counts of assault.
The defendants arrived in the United States on July 1, 2014, and made their initial appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, today before United States Magistrate Judge Thomas Rawles Jones Jr.
A detention hearing is scheduled for July 9, 2014, before United States Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis.
According to the indictment, Figueroa, Valdes, Bello, Lopez, Gracia, and Oviedo-Garcia were part of a kidnapping and robbery conspiracy that utilized taxi cabs in Bogotá, Colombia, to lure victims into a position where they could be attacked and robbed.
Once an intended victim entered a taxi cab, the driver of the taxi cab would signal other conspirators to commence the robbery and kidnapping operation.
The indictment alleges that on June 20, 2013, while he was working for the U.S. Mission in Colombia, Special Agent Watson entered a taxi cab operated by one of the defendants. Special Agent Watson was then allegedly attacked by two other defendants – one who stunned Special Agent Watson with a stun gun and another who stabbed Special Agent Watson with a knife, resulting in his death.
On July 1, 2014, the Government of Colombia extradited the defendants to the United States.
This case was investigated by the FBI, DEA, and DSS, including the Office of Special Investigations and the Regional Security Office at Embassy Bogatá, in close cooperation with Colombian authorities, and with assistance from INTERPOL and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Stacy Luck of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Violent Crime|Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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