DEL RIO, Texas - A Homeland Security Task Force case resulted in a San Antonio woman being sentenced today to 40 years in federal prison for her role in an illegal alien hostage taking conspiracy disrupted by the U.S. Border Patrol Targeting Unit, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, on Aug. 4, 2024, Jailene Marisol Reyes, 28, made a phone call to a man, telling him that his fiancé was being held at Reyes's house and that if he did not pay a $6,000 ransom, the fiancé would be sold to other people. San Marcos Police Department officers traced the phone number from the man's phone to Reyes as part of their investigation and requested assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety. After a meet-up was arranged between the man and Reyes, TX DPS troopers conducted a traffic stop on Reyes, arresting her and rescuing the hostage. A stolen handgun was also located inside Reyes's vehicle.

Further investigation revealed that Reyes allegedly worked for Spencer Garnett Demps aka "Chucky" and assisted in the smuggling of illegal aliens into the United States. Reyes also stated that the hostage had been transported to her from Eagle Pass and that, while Reyes expected to be paid, she wouldn't receive payment until the hostage was released to her family.

Reyes was named in a five-count indictment on May 28, 2025, charged with conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens for profit, conspiracy to commit hostage taking, and hostage taking. She was arrested on June 6, 2025, and pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking. During the sentencing hearing the victim in the hostage taking event testified that she was told by the organization that she would be sold or sex trafficked, if her fiancé did not pay the ransom. Ultimately, the fiancé did show up to a predetermined location to pay the $5,000 ransom, but a co-defendant robbed him at gun point and the organization continued to hold the victim until she was rescued.

Co-defendant Jonathan Andre West was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on May 14, 2025. Mario Barrientos Jr. pleaded guilty on Feb. 9, to one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking, and Nicholas Sagini Nyaosi both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens. They both remain in custody awaiting sentencing. Spencer Garnett Demps was arrested on Dec. 6, 2024, and remains in custody pending further court proceedings.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Warsame Galaydh and Brett Miner prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from FBI; ICE HSI; DEA; ATF; U.S. Border Patrol; USMS; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Department of Transportation; IRS Criminal Investigation; Texas Department of Public Safety; as well as local police departments and sheriff's offices, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.

###