Fresno DA files charges against alleged kidnapper who sought ransom for man’s family

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday filed multiple charges against a New Mexico man accused of kidnapping a family until a man in Fresno paid a ransom to set them free.

Cristian Guadalupe Ortiz Coronado, 31, faces four counts of kidnapping for ransom, one count of attempted kidnapping for ransom, one count of attempted kidnapping and two counts of child abuse.

Ortiz Coronado was arrested Friday after he allegedly kidnapped a mother and her two children, as well as two men.

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Ortiz Coronado had been hired by the families to transport the victims from Mexico to Fresno.

But when family members were unable to pay additional money for transporting the three adults and two children, Ortiz Coronado left with the victims, including a 9-year-old, and did not return the victims until promised of the additional payment.

Ortiz Coronado was arrested after an officer was waved down by a man near Maple and Central avenues about a kidnapping involving his family, according to Fresno police. He said his wife and son were being held hostage.

If convicted, Ortiz Coronado could face life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Agreed to pay

The father told officers he agreed to pay the man to take his wife and two young children from the Mexico border to Fresno. The suspect arrived in Fresno with the family members and met the father at the agreed location. But the suspect demanded more money for the trip, police said.

Police said the wife and son remained in the suspect’s vehicle and the man told the father to call him when he had more money and then drove away.

Officers investigated and, working with the FBI, were able to track the suspect’s phone to a Madera address.

Family members were not injured, police said.