By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Tex Ortiz pleaded guilty on Friday to kidnapping for his role in a November 2020 botched home invasion in South Richmond Hill that turned into a hostage standoff.
Ortiz, 38, of Manhattan, pleaded guilty to kidnapping in the second degree. Justice Gia Morris indicated she will sentence Ortiz to a determinate term of 13 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 31.
The case against Ortiz’s co-defendant, Wilbert Wilson, 53, of the Bronx, is pending.
File Photo
Tex Ortiz is set to be sentenced to 13 years in prison on July 31.
According to the charges:
On Nov. 17, 2020, at approximately 8:40 p.m., Ortiz and Wilson used a crowbar to enter through a back door of a home on 125th Street in South Richmond Hill. Inside the residence were four women and a 9-month-old baby.
The defendants demanded money from one of the victims, while three other hostages were ziptied and held at gunpoint. Another woman was pistol-whipped on the head causing her to fall into furniture while holding her infant daughter.
One of the victims managed to call 911 and when police arrived on the scene the young mother ran from the home clutching her baby daughter in her arms.
The other victims were threatened by Ortiz and Wilson at gunpoint. The defendants at one point used a victim as a human shield. The last hostage was forced to walk in front of them at gunpoint and yell to the police not to shoot.
Ortiz and Wilson surrendered to police after releasing the last hostage.
“Fortunately, a highly volatile and dangerous standoff ended safely,” Katz said. “For his role in terrorizing and threatening a defenseless family in their own home, a very dangerous man is going to prison for a long time.”
