Fresno woman pleads guilty to kidnapping mother, child to thwart testimony in DV case
A Fresno woman pleaded guilty Monday to kidnapping a mother and her 9-year-old daughter to prevent testimony in a domestic violence case.
Claudia Gonzales, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnapping involving a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The case began when police arrested the mother’s boyfriend after she reported him for domestic violence in May 2024.
The boyfriend’s sister, Rosa Ventura, 35, allegedly conspired with Gonzalez to retaliate against the mother by tricking her and her 9-year-old daughter into getting in an SUV with them, with Gonzalez hiding in the vehicle’s rear cargo area, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gonzalez emerged from the back seat of the car after Ventura drove the mother and child to a field outside Fresno and the duo drove them to Mexico border.
The mother and daughter tried to escape at one point while they stopped at a gas station, though Ventura and Gonzales forced them back in the vehicle, in part, by using a stun gun, according to a news release.
The mother and 9-year-old were dropped off at a bus station in Tijuana, Mexico, to keep the mother from testifying in the domestic violence case.
Before the kidnapping, Ventura persuaded the mother to leave her 5-month-old daughter with another relative in Fresno. The infant was kept out of the mother’s care from May to November 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Gonzales will be sentenced May 18 and faces a statutory minimum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ventura’s trial is set to begin April 23. She also faces a minimum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine.
