Elkton Man Pleads Guilty to Solicitation to Commit Kidnapping
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 23, 2014 |
BALTIMORE—Andres Dorantes Flores, age 43, of Elkton, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to soliciting others to kidnap a 10-year-old boy.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Cecil County Sheriff Barry A. Janney, Sr.; and Cecil County State’s Attorney Ellis Rollins.
According to his plea agreement, beginning in at least July 2012, Flores solicited others to kidnap a 10-year-boy. The families of Flores and the boy had been friends. Flores approached an acquaintance and suggested kidnaping the boy and demanding a $300,000 ransom from the boy’s father. Flores continued to solicit the acquaintance to help with the kidnapping in subsequent meetings. Flores provided pictures of the boy and his family to the acquaintance.
On August 15, 2012, Flores arranged a meeting with the acquaintance and two men that Flores believed were from Philadelphia who had come to kidnap the victim as part of Flores’ plot. Flores told the men that he had thought the plan through and provided them with instructions to carry out the kidnapping. Flores arranged for the men take the boy from his home in Maryland to Philadelphia, where Flores believed the men resided. Flores told the men that after they received the $300,000 ransom, they would each get $75,000. Flores was arrested following the meeting.
Flores and the government have agreed that if the court accepts the plea agreement, Flores will be sentenced to 175 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles has scheduled sentencing for May 8, 2014, at 1:00 p.m.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, and Cecil County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and thanked the New Castle County, Delaware Police Department for their assistance. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who is prosecuting the case.