Park Des Moines Apartments in Burien, Washington (Google Maps).
Authorities in Washington state arrested two men who were allegedly part of a brutal kidnapping and attempted murder of a woman who had $20,000 in jewelry in her purse.
She only survived the horrifying ordeal by ducking a gunshot to her head and playing dead on the side of the highway, cops said.
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Kevin Daniel Sanabria Ojeda, 24, and Alexander Moises Arnaez-Gutierrez, 25, are charged in King County Superior Court with attempted murder, kidnapping and robbery. A probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime said the incident unfolded on Jan. 21 at an apartment complex in Burien, a suburb of Seattle. But prosecutors allege the suspects had been casing the victim for months and were waiting for her when she came home from work.
“The facts of this case demonstrate a sophistication and pre-planning and a level of violence that is alarming,” prosecutors wrote.
Per the affidavit, the King County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Park Des Moines Apartments for a welfare check after a neighbor heard the victim scream followed by a gunshot. The victim wasn’t answering her phone and could not be found.
About an hour later, deputies received word from a neighboring county that the victim was found on the side of a highway some 60 miles away suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. From her hospital bed, the victim told detectives she went to work that day and hung out with a friend. When she returned home, she saw men in the apartment complex parking lot she did not know.
“As [the victim] walked to her apartment, the two males outside the compact vehicle approached her and stated they had been waiting for her,” prosecutors wrote in the affidavit. “One of the suspects had a gun and said that he knew [the victim] lived alone. He also knew [she] would get home around 6 to 7 p.m. and that she made them wait three hours.”
One of the suspects fired a shot at her, but missed, per cops. They then allegedly forced her into their car, made her lay on the floor in the back seat and drove away. She told cops the suspects demanded her purse which contained $20,000 worth of jewelry.
The suspects then allegedly drilled a hole in her right hand, demanding she give them her bank card pin code. They drove to the ATM and withdrew about $40 worth of cash from her account, the affidavit said.
She said the drove onto a highway and started driving. One of the suspects allegedly said she knew too much and they needed to kill her. They forced her over a retaining wall on the side of the highway, the affidavit said.
“The suspect who had shot at [the victim] earlier pointed the gun at her and shot at her again,” prosecutors wrote. “[She] stated she ducked and was struck in the shoulder. [She] believes the suspect thought he had hit her in the head, so she yelled and played dead.”
According to cops, the victim climbed back over the retaining wall and flagged down a passerby for help. The suspects then went back to her apartment complex and stole her car, the affidavit said.
At the highway scene, cops found a large amount of blood, a shell casing and lip gloss. Cell phone data and the ATM withdrawal matched the victim’s version of events.
Cops issued a be on the lookout (BOLO) for the victim car and an officer spotted it in Lake Oswego, Oregon, more than 170 miles from the original crime scene. Detectives tied the address where the car was located to Ojeda, who matched the man driving the victim’s vehicle on the day in question, the affidavit said. Police also located the vehicle the suspects drove in the attempted murder and robbery, and found a drill they allegedly used.
With the help of the FBI, cops arrested Ojeda at a hotel in Illinois on Jan. 31. The hotel room allegedly contained the victim’s jewelry. Local ABC affiliate KOMO reported cops arrested Arnaez-Gutierrez earlier this week in Mercer Island, Washington state.
The TV station also reported that Arnaez-Gutierrez has ties to the violent, Venezuela-based gang Tren De Aragua.
Both suspects are being held on a $1 million bond. They have court dates scheduled for later this month.
