OAKLAND — Two men have been charged with kidnapping a man in Oakland last week and holding him for $150,000 ransom in San Leandro, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said today.
The victim was tied up, held at gunpoint and imprisoned in the trunk of a car during the kidnapping, which lasted for over 9 hours, according to police. He was found in the car’s trunk when the suspects crashed in Hayward after a short pursuit Friday.
Prosecutors said Daniel Arevalosarvia, 22, and Cesar Salsamendi, 45, were charged with kidnapping for ransom, second-degree robbery, evading police and several gun charges.
The victim was kidnapped from his vehicle while at the corner of East 12th and High streets in Oakland shortly before 11 p.m. last Thursday.
Arevalosarvia held him at gunpoint and forced him into a car Salsamendi was driving, Oakland police Officer Jerry Sanchez wrote in court documents.
The two suspects then allegedly called the man’s family and demanded $150,000.
The victim was eventually taken to the two suspects’ home at 16323 Blanco St. in San Leandro, where Arevalosarvia allegedly put him in the trunk of the car and tied his ankles with rope. Salsamendi held him at gunpoint and took his wallet, Sanchez wrote.
Police developed suspicions about the home and while watching it saw the two men drive away.
Officers chased them, with Arevalosarvia driving, until the suspects crashed near Mission and Paradise boulevards in Hayward, Sanchez wrote.
There they arrested both suspects and found the victim still bound and blindfolded in the trunk of the car at about 8:20 a.m. Friday.
Sanchez said the two men admitted to the kidnapping when interviewed by investigators. They are being held in Santa Rita Jail without bail. Salsamendi is due in court at 9 a.m. Friday while Arevalosarvia is not due back until June 12, according to prosecutors.
Oakland police said shortly after the arrest that they believe the victim was targeted, but have not yet elaborated on how the suspects may have known him. They are looking into the possibility the two men were involved in other kidnappings.