Two sisters and a boyfriend have been sentenced to federal prison after kidnapping two young children—ages five and four—from their Corpus Christi home in the dead of night. Georgia Michelle Gregg, 31, Jada Nicole Gregg-Warren, 32, and Ivan Francisco Alvarez-Benavente, 27, admitted to the violent abduction that triggered a months-long cross-border manhunt.
On August 19, 2015, Gregg and Gregg-Warren stormed into the residence, seized the children, and fled to McAllen. Alvarez-Benavente followed in a separate vehicle. The Corpus Christi Police Department immediately issued an Amber Alert, activating a Child Abduction Response Team backed by the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. The clock was ticking.
Authorities tracked the group as Gregg returned to Texas while Gregg-Warren and Alvarez-Benavente crossed into Mexico with the children. The trio holed up at a residence near the Alvarez-Benavente family in Mexico. Through joint operations between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement, the pair and the children were brought back across the border on December 16, 2015. Gregg-Warren and Alvarez-Benavente were arrested on the spot.
Sentencing came down today as Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head handed Jada Nicole Gregg-Warren 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She also received an additional 12 months for violating bond conditions tied to a previous conviction for possession with intent to distribute heroin. Georgia Michelle Gregg, 31, was sentenced to 108 months plus three years supervised release. Ivan Francisco Alvarez-Benavente, 27, will serve 57 months and is expected to face deportation upon release.
All three defendants pleaded guilty—Gregg on July 6, 2016, and Gregg-Warren and Alvarez-Benavente on June 30, 2016. They’ve been in custody since their arrests and will remain so until transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility. No details were released on where they’ll serve their time.
The case was investigated by the FBI, Corpus Christi Police Department, and U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez prosecuted. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson confirmed the convictions, calling the crime a ‘brazen violation of trust and law.’ The children have been returned to their family.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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