(LAREDO, Texas) - Ruben Cabrera Saucedo, 24, and Christopher Jaime Cardenas, 25, have been sentenced for Conspiracy to Kidnap, Kidnapping, and Using a Firearm during the Commission of a Crime of Violence, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today. U.S. District Court Judge George P. Kazen sentenced Cardenas and Saucedo at approximately 3:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, 2008.

The facts demonstrated that on Feb. 17, 2007, Saucedo, Cardenas and others agreed to confront Mateo Ezequiel Valiente Solis, aka William, at a residence in the Plantation subdivision of Laredo, Texas, about possible stealing and/or threats. Several of those who confronted Solis brandished weapons, including Cardenas and Saucedo.

During this confrontation, Solis was assaulted and tied up at the residence and subsequently taken from the residence in Laredo into Mexico where he was shot and left for dead. Miraculously, Solis survived the shooting and eventually was brought to the United States by law enforcement officers.

Saucedo was sentenced to a total of 272 months imprisonment and will face five years of supervised release if he, a resident alien, is not deported from the country after his term of imprisonment. Cardenas was sentenced to a total of 319 months imprisonment and will serve a five-year-term of supervised release once he has completed his sentence. Both of these defendants were ordered to pay restitution for the victim's medical bills in the amount of $149,721.60.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the South Texas Violent Crime Task Force, the Laredo Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Graciela Rodriguez Lindberg.