Pharr man sentenced to life; remains on the loose

McALLEN — A Pharr man will spend the rest of his life behind prison walls — if and when he’s captured.

Luis Gerardo Betancourt remains a fugitive and has not been seen since he fled from authorities on the eve of his federal criminal trial.

Despite this, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Betancourt to life in prison Wednesday in absentia — in connection with his conviction in March on federal hostage-taking and bringing in and harboring a person unauthorized to be in the country, according to court records.

Crane sentenced Betancourt in absentia because Betancourt remains a fugitive from the law three months after he failed to appear for his own trial in late March.

The 21-year-old man was last seen inside Crane’s courtroom March 7 — when he appeared alongside his attorney for selection of jurors for his trial — which was set to begin two weeks later.

Crane issued a bench warrant March 21 after Betancourt failed to appear for the first day of testimony. Betancourt, who was free on bond, had appeared for all hearings prior to the trial.

The government called more than 20 witnesses during trial, including Betancourt’s co-defendants, Luis Enrique Perez-Talavera and Jonathan Carlos Valdez-Harris.

Jurors found the Pharr man guilty of one count of hostage taking, and one count of bringing in and harboring aliens after only five days of testimony and three hours of deliberations.

The trial was related to a Dec. 2015 incident where Betancourt threatened to harm a woman’s child if she didn’t come up with money for her transport into the country and back to her, court records show.

“On December 1, 2015 (Betancourt) contacted the (unidentified Mexican woman) and stated her daughter and a friend were transported to the U.S. and that (the woman) would need to deposit the remaining fees for her daughter and the three others being transported with her daughter,” the complaint shows.

“(The woman) explained to (Betancourt) the amount of money (Betancourt) was asking for was more than (she) had agreed to.”

The communication between Betancourt and the woman took place from Dec. 1 to Dec. 4.

“(Betancourt) told (the woman) to do whatever she needed to do in order to get the money and if (she) did not they would kill (her) daughter,”

Two days later (Betancourt) contacted the woman and demanded $18,000 and that if she did not come up with the money he would sell her 8-year-old daughter for that amount.

Four days after the woman’s ordeal began, federal agents located and arrested Betancourt at his home in 7600 block of Blanca Road in Pharr, the criminal complaint states.

Perez-Talavera and Valdez-Harris pleaded guilty to one count each of bringing in and harboring last March.

Crane sentenced Betancourt to life on Wednesday and handed down sentences for Perez-Talavera and Valdez-Harris of 20 years and 10 years, respectively, for their roles in the plot, court records show.

“Betancourt and Perez-Talavera were ordered to pay $26,000 in restitution, while Valdez is to pay $3,000.

In handing down the sentence, the court noted how vulnerable one of the victims was, an eight-year-old child, and that the hostage taking conspirators exploited her age and vulnerability to pry additional ransom from family members,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Betancourt, who was facing federal charges related to false statements he gave federal agents before they were dismissed, is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.