EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — KTSM has obtained court documents that reveal further details after a former Gadsden Independent School teacher allegedly kidnapped a young woman and her child earlier this month at the Cielo Vista Mall parking lot.
Kidnapping suspect a former teacher at Gadsden ISD Victor Hugo Escobedo, 52, is facing a charge of aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon after kidnapping a 26-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter on Friday afternoon, Sept. 6, at the Cielo Vista Mall parking lot.
According to court documents, the woman told police that she was leaving the mall that Friday and while getting ready to drive off in her truck, the woman was approached by Escobedo.
The woman told police that Escobedo spoke to her in English several times before lifting his shirt and displaying a black and yellow handgun that was tucked in his front band.
The woman repeatedly told Escobedo that she didn’t speak English, to which Escobedo then spoke to her in Spanish and told her to get in the truck, according to court documents.
The woman then got into the driver’s seat of the truck and Escobedo entered the rear driver’s side and sat next to the child while holding a handgun in his hand.
Escobedo then asked the woman who she banked with, to which the woman replied “GECU.” He then instructed the woman to drive to the GECU located on Viscount Boulevard and asked her to get money from the ATM, according to court documents.
The woman told police that she was only able to get 300 dollars from the ATM transaction which made Escobedo upset. He then asked her how much she and her daughter’s life was worth and also asked her how much she had.
The woman told Escobedo that she had about $5,000 to which Escobedo told her to go into the bank and take out all the money from her account, according to court documents.
The woman tried to take her child with her, but Escobedo told the woman not to do anything she wasn’t supposed to do, and that the baby would be okay, according to court documents.
The woman then entered the bank and withdrew $5,000. When the woman exited the bank and got back into the truck, Escobedo told the woman to drive back to the Cielo Vista Mall parking lot.
Once they arrived, Escobedo took the money and the woman’s phone and fled the area. The woman then left the parking lot and drove to a location where she felt safe and called 911.
Video surveillance footage from the bank was obtained by investigators and showed Escobedo moving the truck to another parking spot while the woman was inside. Due to Escobedo touching the door handles of the truck, officers were able to lift his fingerprints and get a match to identify him, according to court documents.
Escobedo was later arrested on Saturday, Sept. 14, and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a total bond of $550,000.
As we have previously reported, the Gadsden Independent School District confirmed to KTSM that Escobedo was a former teacher at the district.
Gadsden ISD sent KTSM the following statement:
“Victor Hugo Escobedo is no longer employed with Gadsden ISD. Due to privacy policies, we cannot disclose further details regarding his employment, including specific classes or grades he taught.”
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