Three Haitian Nationals Plead Guilty to One Count of Conspiracy to Commit Hostage Taking of American Citizens Abroad

WASHINGTON—Three Haitian Nationals have pled guilty conspiring to commit hostage taking of American citizens in Port Au Prince, Haiti, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor and Jonathan I. Soloman, Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office of the FBI, announced today.

Late yesterday afternoon, Jean Claude Ceide, 31, Wesly Ducastin, 31, and Polynice Wadner, also 31, entered their guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan. The three defendants were indicted on November 8, 2007, and after being held in a Haitian prison in Port Au Prince for more than two years, the defendants waived extradition and were flown to the United States. Their extradition was accomplished by the concerted efforts of several entities, including several sections of the FBI and other U.S. federal agencies, the government of Haiti and the government of Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Sentencing is scheduled before the Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan for July 20, 2009. Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, the defendants each face 15 years in prison.

According to the government’s proffer of evidence, the defendants were members of a Haitian Gang called Delmas. The purpose of the gang was, among other things, to kidnap persons for ransom. They particularly sought to kidnap American Nationals from whom they believed they could get the highest ransom.

On May 5, 2006, the defendants and others were recruited to kidnap two young teenage students on their way to school, both of whom were American Nationals. When the students’ ride came to pick them up and drive them to school, the driver was ordered out of the car at gunpoint. The first person to arrive was a Haitian National girl. When the American National came out of her house, she suspected that something was wrong and headed back to her house. She was accosted by an unknown person who told her that they would kill her Haitian classmate if she did not go with them. As a result she relented and got into the car, but not before she successfully warned the other American girl not to come outside.

The defendants held the two Haitian and American girls for ransom for three days, as they negotiated with the American’s grandfather. During the negotiations, the girls overheard one of the defendants state that he would kill both girls if they did not comply with their demands. Originally the defendants demanded a ransom of $200,000 U.S. dollars, but ended up settling for much less before safely releasing the two girls.

In announcing the guilty pleas, U.S. Attorney Taylor and FBI Special Agent in Charge Solomon praised the efforts of Supervisory Special Agent Amanda Moran from the FBI Criminal Investigative Division; the Legal Attaché Office of the FBI in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic; the Anti-Kidnaping Unit of the Haitian National Police; Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic; United Nations Civilian Police; U.S. Citizenship Services Office, Port Au Prince, Haiti; U.S. Embassy Haiti; Customs and Border Patrol, Ft. Lauderdale International Airport; FBI's Special Flight Operation Unit, Manassas, VA; Washington Field Office SWAT, Miami Field Office SWAT, Miami Surveillance Operations Group-1; the T-8 and T-5 Squads of the Miami Division; the lead investigator Special Agent Robert Webb of the FBI Miami Field Office; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Long-Doyle who is prosecuting the case.