Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office Attempted Murder Investigation Leads to Arrests

Two men connected to a Venezuelan gang are in custody for kidnapping and robbing a Burien Woman.

Kittitas County Sheriff's Office a three-month investigation by Kittitas and King County Sheriff's detectives has led to two arrests with a third suspect identified.

Get our free mobile app

Court documents show 25-year-old Alexander Arnaez-Guttierrez and 24-year-old Kevin Ojeda face charges of robbery, kidnapping, and first-degree attempted murder in connection to an abduction of a 58-year-old Burien woman, who escaped after flagging down a passing car on I-90 in Kittitas County.

On January 21, suspects allegedly abducted the woman from her home in the south Seattle area who stole $20,000 in gold jewelry she purchased for her business. They allegedly pushed her into their car, threatened to kill her and her family, and tortured her with a power drill to obtain her bank information.

They drove to Snoqualmie Pass, pushed her over a concrete barrier along I-90, and shot her. The men returned to the woman's apartment where they stole her car.

Investigators arrested one suspect in Chicago who still had possession of the vehicle, while police arrested a second suspect in Seattle earlier this month.

The nature of the crimes led investigators to believe at least one of the arrested men has ties to a violent criminal gang based in Venezuela called "Tren De Aragua."

“This case is a heinous example of the increasingly violent crime we face and need to address more urgently at the local, state, and federal levels," said Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers. "I’m grateful for the cooperation and tireless work of the King County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the other criminal justice partners who brought about these arrests.”

Both men in custody face a $1 million bail and investigators continue the investigation.