Three men have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping a 17-year-old boy in San Bernardino County and holding him for ransom in Santa Maria.
Fidel Jesús Patino Jaimes, 22, Jair Tomás Ramos Domínguez, 26, and Ezequiel Felix López, 27, all from Santa Maria, entered the pleas Tuesday in a Riverside federal courtroom.
The three men were arrested Sept. 22 and charged with felony kidnapping. Their trial is set for Nov. 29.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, on Sept. 18, the defendants caused an accident in which the victim crashed into their vehicle. When the teen got out of his car, the defendants allegedly grabbed him and forced him into their vehicle.
Federal officials say the men later called the victim's mother and demanded $500,000 be delivered to Nogales, Mexico.
Authorities say the defendants also sent a WhatsApp video to the victim's mother which showed the teen sitting in the back of a vehicle, reading a script that claimed the abduction was his father's fault for an incident that occurred in New York.
For several days, the victim's mother continued to receive phone calls demanding payment and threatening harm to the victim.
Federal officials say after reviewing Ring doorbell camera video of the kidnapping and identifying the suspects' vehicle, law enforcement were able to track them to a Motel 6 on Main Street in Santa Maria.
Authorities served a search warrant at the motel in the early-morning hours of Sept. 22 and reportedly found the three defendants and the victim, who was lying on the floor in a corner of the room.
The three men are scheduled to appear in court in Los Angeles on Monday.
The kidnapping charge reportedly carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.
