Lexington man sentenced in kidnapping in which two bodies were found in car’s trunk
One of several men convicted in connection with two fatal kidnappings in Lexington has been sentenced to life in federal prison for his role in the crimes.
Ramon Camacho Zepeda, 54, was the last of the defendants to be sentenced in connection to the deaths of Jose Olascoaga, 29, and Marco Antonio Tunai Ortiz, 27, whose bodies were found in the trunk of a car on Blue Sky Parkway in 2017.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Camacho Zepeda and another man, Rosario Diaz Barraza, 32, “were distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin in Lexington,” the Department of Justice said in a news release, and court records indicate that they demanded money that they said Olascoaga owed them.
Camacho Zepeda and Diaz Barraza attacked Olascoaga and Ortiz at an automotive repair business that Olascoaga owned at 430 Blue Sky Parkway, then put their bodies into the trunk of a Volkswagen Jetta parked at the shop, court documents indicate. Olascoaga’s wife called police after finding their remains on Sept. 14, 2017.
The Justice Department said a pathologist from the Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office testified that Olascoaga died as a result of asphyxiation and “chop wounds” to the head, while Ortiz died from asphyxiation.
In April, a federal jury found Camacho Zepeda, of Lexington, and Barraza of Phoenix, guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and interstate transportation of stolen automobiles.
Camacho Zepeda was sentenced in federal court in Lexington Friday by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell.
In September, Barraza was sentenced to 35 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, the justice department said in a news release.
A third man, John Carlos Betancourt, 27, of Penuelas, Puerto Rico, was convicted of interstate transportation of stolen vehicles and was sentenced in July to 84 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the justice department.
Two others, Jean Serrano-Jimenez, 31, and Jose Felix Tlatenchi, 39, both of Pennsylvania, accepted plea agreements. Serrano-Jimenez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was sentenced in October to 168 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, according to the justice department. Tlatenchi pleaded guilty as an accessory after the fact to the kidnappings and was sentenced in September to 121 months in prison and three years of supervised release, court records show.
Tlatenchi’s plea agreement stated that he arrived at Olascoaga’s auto shop while the assault was happening and saw Zepeda holding a large object with a blade.
Court documents indicated that Tlatenchi tried to hide vehicles that belonged to Olascoaga by taking them to Pennsylvania, and getting registration and insurance for them in his name.
“This case perfectly illustrates the brutal nature of drug trafficking; two individuals suffered a violent end because they got mixed up with the wrong crowd,” J. Todd Scott, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Louisville Division, said in the release. “Lexington is a safer community today, with one more violent offender sentenced to prison for committing these barbaric acts.”
