Oh, well, I am only nearly a month late with the news, but better late then never, right! What prompted me to search around and see if something was new on this story we reported back in May where 4 African immigrants (3 were identified as refugees) had plotted to kidnap rich local women and hold them for ransom, is that this afternoon nearly 20 people are visiting RRW and that old May kidnapping story. I figured something must be going on with it.
This is all I found, a short piece from mid-July about how all four have pleaded guilty and face life sentences. I suspect they got a little culture shock coming from Africa where kidnapping for ransom is likely just one more source of ill-gotten gain.
Four men have pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in a plot to kidnap the wives of wealthy Roanoke area men and hold them for ransom.
U.S. Attorney Julia Dudley said 19-year-old Joshua Kasongo of Roanoke and 20-year-old Luke Elbino of Vinton entered guilty pleas Friday in U.S. District Court.
Two others, 20-year-old Mohamed Hussein Guhad and 18-year-old Anthony Eugene Boyd-Muse, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Prosecutors say looked for houses in Roanoke County neighborhoods where they believed wealthy people lived, then used the Internet to research their intended targets.
The four face a maximum of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled October 8.
I’m guessing that the Virginia Council of Churches has looked on Roanoke as one of those wonderful welcoming cities, not like mean old Hagerstown, MD.