Donna man charged with kidnapping woman from Edinburg hotel

Edinburg police arrested an 18-year-old Donna man on Dec. 30, 2020, who they accuse of kidnapping a woman and holding her against her will for several hours.

Leeroy Vargas

Investigators allege that Leeroy Vargas kidnapped the woman at 6:59 p.m. on Dec. 29 from the Marriott Hotel on West Tentron Road in Edinburg.

According to a probable cause affidavit, a man called police to report that he saw a male, later identified as Vargas, dragging a woman out of the hotel.

Police reviewed surveillance video which showed the woman trying to get away from Vargas, according to the affidavit.

She had been staying at the hotel with her father, who identified Vargas in the surveillance video and told investigators she had trouble with the man in the past and that he had assaulted her before, police say.

Investigators learned that Vargas and his mother returned the woman to the hotel at 9:14 p.m .

“(She) stated she was at the hotel when Leeroy later showed up as she was outside and grabbed her using force and forced her into his red in color BMW. (She) stated Leeroy made her sit on top of him and bit her left arm to keep her from opening the door,” the affidavit states.

The next day, Dec. 30, Edinburg investigators were conducting surveillance in the 500 block of Fabian Street in Donna and say they watched Vargas get into a red BMW.

The investigators followed the man in an unmarked unit and requested assistance from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office to make contact with Vargas.

“I then advised Investigator Salinas to try and detain Leeroy since he has a previous history of family violence towards kidnapping victim … and feared he may find a way to go after her once again,” the affidavit states.

Court records reflect that Vargas was arrested on Sept. 7, 2020, on allegations that he struck the same woman with his hand. Authorities also charged him with evading arrest and resisting arrest.

He bailed out of jail on Sept. 8 on $10,000 in bonds on those charges.

After the kidnapping allegation, he remains jailed on $45,000 in bonds, records show.