St. Paul kidnapping linked to Mexican cartel: charges
The shop along Payne Avenue in St. Paul where the victim was held.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Three people are now facing charges in a St. Paul kidnapping, now linked to a Mexican cartel, that sparked a SWAT response at a shop just steps away from a police station.
Standoff in St. Paul
The backstory:
Police locked down a block of Payne Avenue near the St. Paul Police Department's Eastern District Station near Minnehaha Avenue East on Tuesday.
Officers, and later SWAT teams, were called out around 2 p.m. for a reported kidnapping and stayed on scene for about two hours on Tuesday. We now know the tip came from a man linked to a cartel who is cooperating with authorities.
According to the charges, the informant said the victim was being held against his will, tortured and would be killed.
St. Paul kidnapping linked to cartel
What we know:
On Thursday, three people who were arrested on Tuesday are now facing charges in the kidnapping.
Thirty-year-old Richar Sanchez Mujica, 48-year-old Erling Soren Holdahl, and 39-year-old Kendra Johnson are all charged with kidnapping for ransom and kidnapping to commit great bodily harm or terrorize. Holdahl also faces drug and weapons charges, while Mujica faces previous drug charges out of Hennepin County.
According to the charges, Mujica admitted to owing money to a Mexican cartel and working for the cartel, doing collections in Minnesota.
Police say, inside the address on Payne Avenue – which apparently is a shop that also has living spaces – the victim was handcuffed and being held against his will.
All three suspects remain in Ramsey County Jail as of Thursday evening.
What they're saying:
Mujica's statements
Speaking with investigators, Mujica admitted to being at the Payne Avenue shop but denied being involved with the kidnapping, beyond being ordered to make a collection at the address. However, on his phone, officers say they found photos of a man who was handcuffed. The informant also told police Mujica was tasked with bringing chains and weights to help with the kidnapping.
Police say a phone believed to belong to the victim was found in Mujica's vehicle.
Johnson's statements
According to the complaint, Johnson also admitted to living at the Payne Avenue shop and knowing the victim was in the basement but denied involvement in the kidnapping. She claimed there had been a group of masked men there the night before.
Holdahl's statement
Holdahl admitted he held the deed for the Payne Avenue address but claimed to know nothing of the kidnapping. He claimed he was trying to get himself out of a financial difficulty and owed money to a man from Mexico. The charges state Holdahl told police he was caught in the middle of something.
"Holdahl is unsure why he owes the money, but [the Mexican man] is using it against him, and Holdahl found himself trapped. Holdahl reiterated he was being forced into stuff he didn’t want to be involved in," the charges explain.
Holdahl also claimed there had been six men armed with "machine guns" who had brought the victim to Payne Avenue.
However, police checked surveillance video and said, while they found several men coming to and leaving Holdahl's shop, there weren't six different men, and nobody was wearing a mask, or carrying a gun.
The victim talks to police
What they're saying:
The victim told officers he had gone to the Payne Avenue address to meet with an attorney about a drug case he was facing. According to the complaint, a friend had recommended the attorney, but the victim ended up getting ambushed by a man holding a shotgun or rifle. The victim said another person hit him from behind with a heavy object and a third hit and kicked him.
The men all wore masks during the attack, the victim said. After being handcuffed to a post, the victim said he was routinely beaten over the course of a few hours until he blacked out.
When he woke up, the victim told police he had an orange blanket over his face. The victim said Johnson later showed up, made small talk, and offered him water. The charges also allege Johnson ended up smoking meth, sharing it with the victim. The victim said Johnson said she was going to look for the handcuff key when Holdahl came back, released the victim, and shortly after, the SWAT teams came into the building.