A brother and sister from Rosarito, Mexico, will spend years in federal prison for orchestrating a violent kidnapping scheme that targeted a Los Angeles County family, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Mario Alex “Shyboy” Medina, 55, received a 25-year sentence, while his sister, María Alejandra Medina, 52, a U.S. citizen living in Mexico, was sentenced to eight years.
According to court documents, Mario Medina directed accomplices to storm the Rosarito home of a neighbor, identified as R.V., on Nov. 5, 2022. Armed men pistol-whipped the victim, fired a gun near his head, and kidnapped him. The next day, the kidnappers demanded $70,000 from the victim’s LA County relatives, sending WhatsApp videos showing him being beaten and threatened with a hammer.
On Nov. 10, the demands escalated to $30,000 under threat of execution. Acting as a supposed mediator, Mario Medina arranged for the family to meet at a McDonald’s in San Ysidro to hand over the ransom. His son, José Salud “Gordo” Medina, 32, accompanied María Medina to collect the money before returning to Mexico.
The victim was later found tied up in a narrow underground trench and rescued by Mexican authorities on Nov. 11, 2022.
A federal jury convicted the siblings in October 2024 of conspiracy to commit hostage taking and conspiracy to demand ransom. Mario Medina was also found guilty of making a foreign communication with intent to extort.
José Salud Medina, currently held in Mexico on unrelated charges, faces separate prosecution in the same case.
Both siblings were ordered to pay $30,000 restitution.
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