During the past week, an eighth and ninth defendant were charged in the case of the abducted UR students who were held for 40 hours last month, on Dec. 5. Jesus Castro-Ubiles and Ruth Lora are the newest additions to the list of those being charged with ties to the kidnapping.
Dana Perrin, Assistant Director of the River Campus’ Department of Public Safety (DPS), said, “We were notified late last week of an eighth and ninth person being arrested and indicted in connection with the kidnapping case in December.” Perrin expressed DPS’ appreciation for the assistance of the Rochester Police Department (RPD).
Castro-Ubiles was arraigned with 27 counts of criminal activity.
In December, Lora was arrested on two counts of second-degree kidnapping. Now, however, Lora has been arraigned on two counts of second-degree kidnapping, one count of first-degree criminal use of a firearm, one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Castro-Ubiles, meanwhile, will be arraigned with four counts of first-degree kidnapping, one count of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree gang assault, six counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree robbery, nine counts of first-degree predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal use of a firearm, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
After the UR seniors were declared missing in December, RPD quickly went into action to find the students and those responsible for the crime. Shortly after, several suspects were taken into custody. The other suspects had been indicted and charged with various counts from assault to criminal use of a firearm.
Although it has taken over a month to find and arrest all nine suspects, Perrin said that “the Rochester Police feel that all suspects have been arrested, but the investigation is continuing as it is: a very complex case”—a complex case that will continue to unfold over the next few months.
