Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Life Plus 60 Months for Violent Kidnapping-for-Ransom Scheme

ALBUQUERQUE - An Albuquerque man was sentenced to life in prison plus 60 months after a federal jury convicted him on kidnapping charges stemming from a 2018 abduction, following nearly seven years on the run from law enforcement.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2018, just weeks after his release from prison for a felony firearm conviction stemming from a high-speed police chase, and while under court supervision and wearing a GPS ankle monitor, Jose Ramirez, 47, engineered a calculated and violent kidnapping-for-ransom scheme targeting his former employer, a 68-year-old business owner who had fired him years earlier for theft.

On July 25, 2018, the day before the kidnapping, Ramirez met with his co-defendants in Albuquerque and enlisted them in the scheme, which he described as a plan to retaliate against his former boss and "take him for all he had." One co-defendant further recruited a third participant, who acted as the primary enforcer during the attack. In the early morning hours of July 26, after stealing a vehicle from a family member, cutting off his GPS monitor and discarding his phone to conceal his movements, Ramirez and his co-defendants traveled to the victim's residence in Placitas.

At approximately 6 a.m., the defendants ambushed the victim as he exited his home. Ramirez restrained the victim in a chokehold and held a knife to his throat. During the ensuing struggle, the victim was pistol-whipped multiple times before being subdued. The defendants forced the victim into his own Ford Ranger and drove him to a remote location, where they robbed him of cash and a check, bound him, and transported him to a dilapidated shed in Albuquerque.

Ramirez held the victim captive for approximately 15 hours, during which the victim endured additional beatings. Throughout the day, Ramirez made multiple ransom calls to the victim's daughter, demanding $9,600 and directing her to wire money to a bank account in Mexico. Despite his previous efforts to avoid detection, Ramirez used his personal cell phone to make the calls, which were traced by investigators, and he spoke directly to the victim's daughter during a recorded call, further identifying himself.

The scheme ultimately unraveled when Ramirez failed to provide the necessary banking information required to complete the international wire transfer. After obtaining only $600 from the victim, Ramirez abandoned the ransom attempt. That evening, the victim was released in southwest Albuquerque and walked to a nearby gas station, where he called for help.

In the aftermath, Ramirez attempted to profit further by using a stolen check bearing his fingerprint, which led to an additional bank fraud conviction for an associate. He then fled New Mexico, traveling to California, where he lived under aliases and continued engaging in criminal activity. Ramirez evaded law enforcement for seven years before being apprehended in California.

On December 12, 2025, a federal jury convicted Ramirez on multiple charges, including conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to carjack, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and extortion. Due to his more than thirty years of criminal conduct and the particularly violent and calculated nature of the crime, the government requested-and the court imposed-a sentence of life in prison plus 60 years.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Valencia County Sheriff's Office, Albuquerque Police Department and New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole. Assistant United States Attorneys Jack E. Burkhead and Sarah Mease are prosecuting the case.