Four Del Valle High School students have been arrested after a classmate told investigators he was kidnapped and viciously beaten in southeast Travis County in February. Arrest affidavits reviewed by local reporters say the teen suffered extensive bruising and burns, then was dropped at a different location before he reported the assault to authorities. The case has quickly become the talk of the rural Austin-area campus, rattling both students and parents.
According to CBS Austin, the suspects are 17-year-olds Jose Rojas-Alvarado, Oscar Armando Santiago-Martinez, Angel Lemus-Perez and Carlos Roberto Oliva-Villeda. Each is charged with aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, a first-degree felony. Investigators say the ordeal began on Feb. 19, shortly after the victim left Del Valle High School. The teens allegedly lured him to a gas station across the street, then drove him to a home in the 13300 block of FM 969, where a fourth suspect was waiting. Affidavits and courtroom filings described by the outlet state that the victim was bound with duct tape, his mouth was covered, and he was beaten with aluminum bats, a walking cane and a belt while one suspect held a gun to his head.
“I thought it was insane, especially at our school,” student J’Kaideon Mitchell told CBS Austin, summing up the shock among classmates. The affidavits further allege the teen was burned, forced to drink alcohol and that at least one suspect recorded the attack. According to those documents, others told the victim the beating was tied to a dispute over a girl and warned him not to go to the police, threatening additional harm if he did.
What investigators say
Investigators documented extensive bruising and contusions across the victim’s back, chest and legs, and say some of the suspects later admitted they had planned the assault for about a week. After the beating, the victim was reportedly dropped off at another location and later contacted law enforcement, setting off the investigation that eventually led to the four arrests.
Legal consequences
Court records cited in local reporting show that Angel Lemus-Perez is also facing a separate charge of engaging in organized criminal activity. Under state law, aggravated kidnapping is a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison, with a narrow possibility of reducing the offense to a second-degree felony if a defendant proves the victim was voluntarily released in a safe place, according to the Texas Penal Code.
The arrests have left many students and neighbors uneasy, and regular school routines have been overshadowed by talk of the case as authorities continue their work. The investigation remains active while prosecutors review the evidence, weigh the charges and consider what comes next in court.
