Kidnapping suspect captured after police chase into field
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MISSION — A police chased ended Wednesday with the arrest of a suspect wanted in connection with a violent kidnapping and home invasion.
Authorities expect to arraign Arturo Vargas today on charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and marijuana possession. Officers arrested him after a stakeout and police chase, said Lt. Martin Garza, the Mission police spokesman.
A surveillance team tracked Vargas to a house in Mission, and police watched him and four other men get into a blue pickup truck and start to drive away. Officers tried to pull him over, but he fled.
Police gave chase and Vargas eventually got out of the truck at a home near the intersection of West Seventh Street and Moorefield Road.
From there he fled on foot into a brushy field, Garza said. A Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter hovered overhead as U.S. marshals and Palmview and Mission police officers searched for him. About 20 minutes later, Garza said, officers caught and arrested Vargas. Police questioned the other four men in the truck, releasing them later in the day.
The capture marked the end of a search that involved officers scouring Vargas’ home early Tuesday morning.
His arrest stems from an incident on Oct. 17 in which eight people armed with high-powered rifles kidnapped three men from a gas station near the intersection of 3 Mile Line and Moorefield Road.
The abductors drove the trio to one of the victim’s homes on the 1100 block of Fincher Street. There, they beat the men and seized 169 pounds of marijuana that was in the home, the captives later told police.
Soon after, police chased down a Chevrolet Tahoe used in the abduction. The kidnappers managed to elude officers, but video from a police car showed the driver’s face, police said.
Officers arrested Gloria Vargas on suspicion of driving the Tahoe. Authorities arraigned her Sunday on a charge of evading arrest. The video also showed her brother Arturo Vargas in the SUV.
Investigators believe Arturo Vargas was one of the men who beat and robbed the victims, Garza said.
The three captives received treatment at Mission Regional Hospital and were released. One of the men, Martin Valdez, the owner of the home, was arraigned Oct. 18 on charges of drug possession, because investigators determined the stolen marijuana had been his.
Garza said investigators are following leads on the other six people involved with the kidnapping, but police did not want to release other suspect descriptions at this time. Garza was optimistic more arrests would be made in connection with the incident.
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Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.
