A San Antonio woman at the center of a brutal hostage scheme linked to a human‑smuggling crew has been ordered to spend 40 years in federal prison, capping a case that mixed cartel‑style threats with highway robbery and a botched ransom handoff.
Jailene Marisol Reyes, 28, was sentenced in Del Rio after pleading guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to commit hostage taking. Federal prosecutors say she played a key role in a plot that involved ransom calls, threats that the victim would be sold or sex‑trafficked, and a stolen handgun found inside Reyes’s vehicle.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, Reyes placed the call on Aug. 4, 2024, and demanded $6,000 for the victim’s release. San Marcos police traced the number back to her, and after authorities arranged a meet‑up, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers moved in with a traffic stop that freed the hostage and led to Reyes’s arrest. Prosecutors say a stolen handgun was recovered from her vehicle, and Reyes acknowledged that the victim had been moved from Eagle Pass.
How Investigators Say The Smuggling Crew Operated
Local reporting from KABB (Fox San Antonio) details how the victim’s fiancé tried to meet the ransom demands but wound up getting pulled into the crime himself. Investigators say he attempted to drop off $5,000 at a predetermined location, only to be robbed by a co‑defendant while the victim remained in custody. The hostage was not released until DPS troopers stopped Reyes’s vehicle during the coordinated traffic stop.
Prosecutors say Reyes worked for Spencer Garnett Demps, known by the nickname “Chucky,” and helped smuggle illegal aliens into the United States. Several alleged co‑conspirators have either pleaded guilty or remain in custody as the broader federal case continues in the Del Rio division.
Co‑Defendants And Federal Charges
The DOJ release states that Reyes was named in a five‑count indictment in May 2025. The charges included conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, harboring for profit, conspiracy to commit hostage taking, and hostage taking.
Several members of the alleged crew have already faced judges. Co‑defendant Jonathan Andre West received an 18‑month sentence in May 2025. Mario Barrientos Jr. pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to conspiracy to commit hostage taking, while Nicholas Sagini Nyaosi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. Demps was arrested on Dec. 6, 2024, and remains in custody awaiting further proceedings, according to federal authorities.
Why This Case Became A Homeland Security Task Force Target
Federal investigators worked the case through a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) operation, a multi‑agency structure created under Executive Order 14159 to go after transnational criminal outfits and human‑smuggling networks. The White House order spells out the HSTFs’ mission to dismantle cross‑border smuggling and trafficking and to coordinate federal, state, and local enforcement, which is the framework prosecutors pointed to when announcing Reyes’s sentence.
Officials say the HSTF model pulls together resources from U.S. Border Patrol, ICE‑HSI, FBI, ATF, and state partners, giving prosecutors a wider toolbox to tackle sprawling smuggling and hostage‑taking schemes like this one.
Victim’s Chilling Account And What Comes Next
At sentencing, the victim described being told she would be sold or sex‑trafficked if her family did not come up with the ransom money, a detail that prosecutors highlighted when pushing for a lengthy prison term, according to KABB (Fox San Antonio).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Brett Miner prosecuted the case. Reyes was arrested on June 6, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2026. Several of her co‑defendants are still awaiting sentencing or additional proceedings in the Del Rio federal courthouse, where the smuggling‑and‑hostage case continues to unfold.
