Today, Jan. 24, Jose Francisco Padilla-Colin, age 28, of Cuerna Vaca, Morales, Mexico, pleaded guilty to kidnapping a woman from Frederick.
According to the statement of facts presented at Padilla-Colin’s guilty plea, on July 19, 2005 Frederick Police Department officers responded to a report that a person had been abducted. The witness reported that he was in a store when he heard a female screaming. He stepped outside the building and saw a woman struggling with Jose Francisco Padilla-Colin near the Ford dealership “parts” sign on Waverly Drive in Frederick.
The witness observed Padilla-Colin punch the victim in the face and throw her into a dark green SUV. He advised police that another man was driving the car and after the victim was forced into the vehicle, they headed west on Route 40.
Investigators were able to determine the license number of the vehicle, based on information provided by the victim’s family and issued a nationwide alert for the vehicle.
On July 21, 2005, two days after the abduction, in Memphis, Texas local law enforcement stopped the SUV for speeding. The officer arrested the driver, based on the nationwide alert and the arrest warrant issued by the Frederick Police.
The officer spoke to the victim, who was in the car, and who stated among other things, that she had been forcibly abducted from Maryland and taken to Texas against her will and that she wanted to be taken back to her parents in Maryland as soon as possible. She advised the officer that Padilla-Colin had been previously dropped off in Willis, Texas.
Padilla-Colin faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years supervised release.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the Frederick Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew G. W. Norman, who is prosecuting the case.