EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) - A woman convicted of ordering the East County kidnappings of two women whom prosecutors say were assaulted and threatened with torture was sentenced Thursday to 30 years and eight months to life in state prison.
Julie Soto, 32, was convicted by an El Cajon jury of kidnapping and other charges in connection with the 2022 abductions committed by her three co- defendants, all of whom have already been sentenced to prison.
Prosecutors said the kidnappings were committed on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel because the victims were believed to have stolen drugs.
Soto's co-defendants broke into the victims' El Cajon home and, at gunpoint, took the women to another location, where they were held for ransom, drugged, threatened with torture and "brutally assaulted," according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
The D.A.'s Office said Soto was referred to by one co-defendant as "the big boss" and "the one that takes care of most (of) SD."
Among the co-defendants, all of whom pleaded guilty to various charges, Victor Medrano, 45, and Eliceo Flores, 36, were each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, while Emily Gonzalez, 33, was sentenced to 24 years and eight months in prison.
According to prosecutors, Soto, Medrano and Flores were additionally indicted for their roles in "a large-scale drug and gun importation scheme." The defendants exchanged messages referencing the sales of fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, as well as selling AR-15 assault rifles and unserialized "ghost guns," according to the indictment.
Medrano and Flores were also indicted for conspiracies to commit another kidnapping, robbery, possession of stolen vehicles and passing more than $10,000 in fraudulent checks, the D.A.'s Office said.
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