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Yonkers resident Fernando Ra was sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection to robbery, firearms, and narcotics offenses, US Attorney Damian Williams announced.
Williams said that on Oct. 3, 2020, Ra and his co-conspirators kidnapped, restrained, robbed, and “savagely assaulted” two victims using guns and baseball bats to beat them.
The indictment states that Ra also used a knife to carve the letter “Z” into the skin of one of the victims, an apparent reference to Los Zetas, Williams said, a violent Mexican drug cartel.
According to the indictment, Ra stated that the victims owed Los Zetas a drug debt, and he was attacking them on behalf of the cartel.
In addition to the kidnapping and robbery, prosecutors said that Ra also participated in a. related conspiracy to traffic between 15 and 50 kilograms of cocaine between May 2020 and November 2020.
Ra pleaded guilty in June 2021. In addition to his prison term, he was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
“With today’s sentence, Fernando Ra will spend 18 years in federal prison for his admitted role in the brutal and violent kidnapping and torture of his victims,” Williams said. This case illustrates yet again how violence goes hand in hand with the illegal drug trade.
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who engage in drug trafficking and violence.”
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