US News
Three men receive 20-year federal sentences in Denver kidnapping and torture case
Fox News reports that three Venezuelan nationals were sentenced for holding and abusing their roommate over several days.
The short version
- Three Venezuelan nationals each received 20-year prison sentences for the kidnapping and torture of their Denver roommate.[Fox News]
- Federal prosecutors stated the men held the victim captive, starved him, beat him, and severed his finger after discovering he was a former Venezuelan police officer.[Fox News]
- The captive escaped following a police welfare check, while a fourth defendant's sentencing was delayed and a fifth man faces a separate indictment.[Fox News]
Key facts
- Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, Jefferson Balza-Delfin, and Yender Enrique Campos-Malave were each sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for kidnapping and torture.[Fox News]
- Prosecutors stated the defendants captured their roommate after discovering that he and his father were police officers in Venezuela.[Fox News]
- The victim was bound with rope, starved, strangled, submerged in a bucket of water, and had his right pinky finger severed with pliers.[Fox News]
- Recordings of the abuse were sent to the victim's wife to extort ransom and shared with Tren de Aragua gang leaders.[Fox News]
- The victim escaped after three captors fled following a brief Denver police welfare check on October 16, 2024.[Fox News]
- A fifth suspect, Brawins Dominique Suarez Villegas, was separately indicted by a federal grand jury for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping.[Fox News]
What remains uncertain
- The sentencing date for a fourth defendant in the case was postponed and remains unresolved.[Fox News]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.