FBI hopes that a search warrant leads to 2020 video of drug traffickers killing a 19-year-old San Diego resident who stole meth from them
The video could be a key piece of evidence as one defendant in the case heads toward trial. Four other defendants are facing lengthy prison sentences after taking plea deals.
It’s been almost five years since a 19-year-old San Diego resident was kidnapped, held hostage and murdered by a group of drug traffickers for stealing 2.5 pounds of meth that he was supposed to smuggle from Tijuana to the U.S.
Four of the five traffickers charged with the kidnapping and murder have taken plea deals and are waiting for a sentencing hearing early next year, court records show.
The fifth defendant, Brian Alexis Patron Lopez, was arrested a year ago in Tijuana and extradited to the U.S. last June. He’s being detained pending trial.
There will be a hearing on Nov. 18 over two motions his attorney filed, including one to get the charges dropped after the government deported a witness who supposedly could’ve confirmed Patron’s innocence. If that’s unsuccessful, the trial is scheduled for January.
Meanwhile, the FBI issued a search warrant to Apple last week for the contents of two iCloud accounts belonging to Patron, hoping to find additional evidence — including a video of the May 2020 murder that allegedly shows Patron pulling the trigger on the fatal gunshot wounds to the victim’s head.
A quick timeline of events, based on court documents:
May 29, 2020 — Miguel Anthony Rendón, 19, a U.S. citizen, was kidnapped from the Motel El Parador in Tijuana by members of a drug trafficking cell for absconding with a few pounds of meth they had given him to smuggle into the U.S.
Over the next day, he was held hostage at multiple locations throughout Tijuana and beaten. His captors made calls to his parents demanding $2,000 to $3,000 in ransom.
May 30, 2020 — Patron allegedly shot and killed Rendón. According to witnesses, the murder was captured on video, which the FBI is now hoping to find through the search warrant.
June 29, 2021 — Wyatt Valencia Pacheco*, who gave the meth to Rendón two days before his murder, was arrested.
March 24, 2022 — Alan Lomeli-Luna*, who was accused of acting as a lookout while the murder took place, was arraigned (unclear when he was arrested).
May 26, 2022 — Luis Dorantes Rivera*, who helped force Rendón into the back seat of the car during the kidnapping, was arrested.
Jan. 22, 2023 — Jonathan Montellano Mora*, who “aided and abetted” the kidnapping and assaulted the victim, was arrested.
*All four initially pleaded not guilty at their arraignments before accepting plea deals, which all requires them to pay restitution. Now they’re waiting for a judge to confirm each of their sentences in February.
June 14, 2024 — Patron was arrested in the U.S. following his extradition from Mexico.
Oct. 28, 2024 — With Patron’s case headed for trial in January, his attorney filed two motions:
One to strike Patron’s post-arrest statements from being used as evidence. Federal agents coerced him into waiving his right to remain silent upon his arrival in the U.S. and interviewed him at length, the motion alleges.
One to dismiss the charges against Patron because a witness, who also happens to be the brother of Wyatt Valencia Pacheco, was deported to Mexico and won’t be available to testify. “His testimony would not only support Mr. Patron’s contention that he was not involved in any of the charged conduct; his testimony is essential to corroborating this claim,” the motion reads.
Nov. 8, 2024 — U.S. attorneys responded to those motions:
They said the post-arrest interview was not central to the case against Patron, rendering most of the motion “moot.” They also denied forcing Patron into talking. “Considered in the totality of the circumstances, there is no indication at any point that Defendant’s will was overborne.”
On the motion to dismiss, they said the witness had been deported months before Patron was indicted, and that it had already been established that the witness would use his Fifth Amendment rights if questioned further about the murder. The government also says he gave an inconsistent account of the murder after he was arrested in 2021 on a material witness complaint. (Also worth mentioning that the search warrant linked above claims that there are multiple cooperating witnesses who have firsthand accounts of Patron’s alleged role in the kidnapping and murder.)
What comes next:
Nov. 18, 2024 — The hearing on Patron’s motions.
Jan. 13, 2025 — Pending the outcome on Nov. 18, Patron’s trial.
Feb. 25, 2025 — A sentencing hearing for Valencia and Montellano, whose plea deals recommend 39 years each, and Dorantes, who faces 29 years.
Feb. 26, 2025 — A sentencing hearing for Lomeli-Luna, whose plea deal recommends 38 years.