Tijuana couple arrested in cross-border kidnapping in San Diego

(KYMA, KECY)-A couple accused of collecting money in a kidnap for ransom scheme was arrested in San Diego last week.

NBC San Diego reports Leslie Briana Matla, 20, and her boyfriend Juan Carlos Montoya, 25, both Tijuana residents, are accused of traveling to the U.S. to collect ransom payments from the families of three men kidnapped in Tijuana in April and March.

Three men were kidnapped south of the border on March 28, April 13, and April 22.  A caller told their families to drop off ransom payments at various locations in Southern California.

Police say a San Diego man's body was found in Mexico on March 29, a day after his son was directed to drop off $25,000 in the women’s restroom of a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro.

A Norwalk man's body was found on April 14 after his family attempted to pay a $25,000 ransom to a woman in the parking lot of a Lowe’s in Norwalk. Police believe the woman was Matla.

However, police were able to rescue a Pasadena man from a hotel in Tijuana where two other victims were held hostage. Police say the received a tip froma woman who called to report her family member was kidnapped and had a ransom demand of $20,000.

His family was told a pregnant woman would collect their payment in the parking lot of a Food 4 Less in Lynnwood before the man was rescued, according to NBC San Diego.

Nine suspects were arrested at the hotel. Based on border crossing records and surveillance video from payment pickup locations, investigators believe Matla was sent from Tijuana to San Diego, Norwalk, and Pasadena to collect the money.

If convicted, Matla and Sanchez could face life in federal prison.