SAN ANTONIO, Texas – San Antonio police have arrested a man who they say was holding a woman hostage inside a Northwest Side home and forcing her to work for free.
According to an arrest affidavit, police found out about the situation Sunday in a phone call from the woman’s husband, then went to a home in the 900 block of Gardina Street.
Recommended Videos
The affidavit said police found a 34-year-old woman from Guatemala hiding in a closet under a blanket.
It says she later told investigators that Elvin Mendez Flores, 38, had been holding her hostage and demanding thousands of dollars in ransom from her husband, who lives in Delaware, and her mother in Guatemala.
The woman said Mendez Flores was one of several people who were supposed to help her travel to meet up with her husband after she crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
Initially, the woman was sent from San Antonio to Houston, then back again, when her family was unable to come up with the entire ransom amount, which was between $6,000 and $7,000, the affidavit said.
While being held in the Northwest Side home, the woman said she was forced to cook for Mendez Flores and others who lived there. She told police she believed the other people in the home were unaware of what was happening.
The affidavit said Mendez Flores also made the woman do other jobs for money, including braiding hair and making tamales. However, she said she was never given any of the proceeds.
“The big guy used to come here to sell tamales to me. I used to pay him, and that’s about it,” said Frank Garcia, who lives in the neighborhood.
Garcia said he never knew where the tamales came from or anything about what allegedly happened in the home.
“They were kind of noisy with music and all that kind of stuff, but kind of normal,” he said. “I never saw a woman there. I saw guys.”
Garcia said his first inkling that something was wrong was when as many as eight police cars suddenly descended on the property Sunday. He said he saw uniformed officers and detectives file out of marked and unmarked vehicles.
“To me, actually, it was, like, ‘OK, something’s going on there, either drugs or something,’” Garcia said.
Based on the charges, however, police are calling this a kidnapping.
The affidavit said the woman told investigators that Mendez Flores had threatened to kill her and harm her family if she tried to escape or call for help. However, the woman was able to secretly use the suspect’s electronic tablet to send a message to her husband, who then called SAPD, the affidavit said.
Mendez Flores was booked into the Bexar County jail Monday afternoon.
In addition to the kidnapping charge, he also faces a charge for illegally entering the country.
Read also:
Woman accused of flushing fetus down restaurant toilet, affidavit says
