Tucson man sentenced to 13 years in prison for 2022 hostage taking (DOJ)

TUCSON, Ariz. - Julio Cesar Rodriguez Rojas, 30, of Tucson, was sentenced earlier this month by Senior United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to 13 years in prison. Rodriguez Rojas previously pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Conspiracy to Hostage Take.

Rodriguez Rojas' co-conspirators, Olegario Lares-De La Rosa and Ivan Heriberto Borboa-Ruiz, both of Mexico, were previously sentenced to 18 years and 14 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the same offense.

On April 6, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations received a tip from an individual in New York that two of his cousins were being held captive and that their captors had demanded a $16,000 ransom for their release. The cousins were illegal aliens who were part of a group of six individuals abducted in the desert by armed men after they crossed into the United States. The armed captors confiscated their cellphones and then transported the six aliens to a house where they were held for multiple days in a room where the door was screwed shut each night to prevent escape. The two cousins were the final hostages to have their ransom paid.

Investigators learned that Borboa-Ruiz made the phone calls arranging for the ransom and hostage exchange. Rodriguez Rojas then instructed Lares-De La Rosa to bring the cousins from where they were being held.

On April 8, 2022, Borboa-Ruiz arrived at the location of the money exchange in Tucson, Arizona and met with two undercover agents. Borboa-Ruiz was armed with a loaded 9mm pistol that Rodriguez Rojas gave him. Borboa-Ruiz received and counted the $16,000 in cash twice to confirm the ransom had been paid, made a phone call to Rodriguez Rojas stating they were "good," and that the two victims could be released. In response, Rodriguez Rojas directed Lares-De La Rosa, who was parked nearby, to release the victims. The victims got out of the car and walked to the vehicle where the ransom had been paid. As the victims reached the undercover vehicle, Borboa-Ruiz was immediately arrested by law enforcement.

While agents were arresting Borboa-Ruiz, Lares-De La Rosa sped away, leading agents on a high-speed vehicle chase. During the pursuit, Lares-De La Rosa threw a loaded 9mm pistol out of the window and bailed out of the vehicle. He then fled into a residential neighborhood, hiding in several private backyards before being arrested. Rodriguez Rojas left the scene and was arrested in 2023.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Marana Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Serra M. Tsethlikai and Sarah Precup, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER: 22-CR-00974-TUC-RCC
RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-164_Rodriguez Rojas