A 24-year-old Mexican national already serving a 35-year prison sentence after 10 years of adjudicated probation was revoked in December 2021, has received another 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges including aggravated kidnapping in which he threatened to kill a man if he didn’t do what he said.
Gerson Saul Salazar appeared Monday before 138th state District Court Judge Gabriela “Gabby” Garcia where he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and burglary of habitation, court records reflect. The crimes occurred April 7, 2021.
Garcia handed down the 35-year sentence that will run concurrent with the prior sentence he received in a 2018 case where he was found guilty of aggravated robbery and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He will be given credit for time served.
According to an Aug. 18, 2021, Cameron County indictment filed against him, Salazar is alleged to have kidnapped a man and threatened to kill him if he didn’t do what Salazar said. The suspect “exhibited a deadly weapon, namely a shotgun, a handgun and a knife during the commission of the offense,” the indictment states.
Salazar was attempting to commit a burglary at the residence of the man, the documents allege. The indictment further alleges Salazar took the man’s F-350 Ford truck, jewelry and money. He also took five rifles, three pistols and six shotguns from the man, the indictment states.
In a previous interview Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said because the amount of weapons Salazar is accused of taking, it is more than likely that he is not working alone. His office is working with other law enforcement agencies to see if Salazar’s name has come up in any other transnational organizations, including those in Mexico.
“We feel that obviously they were not for personal use, we feel that those weapons were intended to be smuggled across into Mexico,” Saenz said.
Salazar has a pending federal charge against him for illegally entering the United States when he was ordered not to return, according to an Oct. 12, 2021, federal indictment.
A federal bench warrant was issued for his arrest, and he has a no bond in this charge.
