2 California Men Charged In Kidnapping Of A Chinese National Whose Body Was Found In Desert

Two men from California’s San Gabriel Valley were charged Wednesday, July 15, for allegedly participating in the violent kidnapping of a Chinese national, whose body was later found in the Mojave Desert.

According to the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, the victim, identified as Ruochen "Tony" Liao, was kidnapped from a mall parking lot in 2018. The victim was then "repeatedly beaten and tased into submission." Following this, Liao’s parents were asked to pay $2 million in ransom "in exchange for the victim’s life." The parents, who lived in China, also received photos suggesting that their son was "badly beaten, blindfolded, and tied up with duct tape."

Meanwhile, Liao was held captive and was frequently beaten, which ultimately led to his death. His body was then taken to the Mojave Desert where it was buried. Following a search by the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, the body was found and DNA testing confirmed that the body belonged to the victim.

Investigation revealed that four people were involved in the crime. Initially, two Chinese nationals, identified as Guangyao Yang and Peicheng Shen, were taken into custody and charged with "conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act, and threat by foreign communication." They remained in custody in China.

On Tuesday, July 14, the other two accused, identified as 28-year-old Anthony Valladares and 24-year-old Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, were arrested after FBI agents and members of the San Gabriel Valley Safe Street Task Force executed a search warrant. A criminal complaint was filed and the duo was charged with one count of kidnapping.

They were arrested after "making statements about their roles in the kidnapping to investigators. According to the affidavit, Valladares admitted that he was hired to assist in the kidnapping, agreed to accept $1,000 for the job, and restrained Liao during the kidnapping. Romero admitted, according to the affidavit, that he was recruited by Valladares and was the driver during the kidnapping," the press release stated.