SEATTLE, WA – Authorities in Washington state have apprehended two men in connection with a violent kidnapping and attempted murder case that left a woman clinging to life on the side of a highway. Her survival is credited to a quick decision to feign death after narrowly avoiding a gunshot to the head.
Kevin Daniel Sanabria Ojeda, 24, and Alexander Moises Arnaez-Gutierrez, 25, face charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, and robbery in King County Superior Court. According to court documents, the assault occurred on January 21 at an apartment complex in Burien, just outside Seattle. Law enforcement officials allege the assailants had been following the victim’s movements for months, planning their attack.
The King County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to the scene when a neighbor reported hearing a woman scream followed by a gunshot. Upon arriving, officers found the victim’s apartment empty and her phone unresponsive. Approximately one hour later, the victim was discovered 60 miles away on a highway with multiple gunshot wounds.
In her hospital statement, the victim recounted her routine day, which ended with an unexpected encounter with two unfamiliar men near her home. She described how the attackers, waiting in her apartment complex’s parking lot, confronted her, revealing they had knowledge of her solitary living and schedule.
The suspects allegedly fired at her, missing, and then kidnapped her at gunpoint, forcing her into their vehicle. While trapped in the car, the suspects demanded her purse, which contained jewelry valued at $20,000. They also inflicted harm by drilling into her hand to extort her bank card PIN number, ultimately withdrawing $40.
Driving on the highway, one of the men purportedly voiced the need to eliminate her as a witness. They forced her over a retaining wall, and when she was shot at again, she pretended to be dead after being hit in the shoulder. This act saved her life, as the attackers believed their job was done.
After managing to climb back to the road’s edge, the woman sought assistance from a passerby. Meanwhile, the suspects returned to her apartment complex to steal her car.
Investigators linked cellular data and ATM records to the crime, corroborating the victim’s account. A vehicle associated with the suspects was later located in Lake Oswego, Oregon, over 170 miles from the initial crime scene. Ojeda, who resembled the driver of the victim’s stolen car, was found linked to a particular address where the vehicle and the tool supposedly used to torment the victim were discovered.
Ojeda’s arrest was facilitated with FBI coordination and occurred at an Illinois hotel where authorities discovered the victim’s stolen jewelry. Arrests were made earlier this week on Arnaez-Gutierrez, who reportedly has affiliations with the Tren De Aragua gang, a notorious criminal organization based in Venezuela.
Both suspects remain in custody under a $1 million bond each, with court appearances set for later this month.