Woman sentenced to 45 Years for the Aggravated Kidnapping of her family member

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- On Monday, August 2, 2021, in the 9th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas, with Judge Phil Grant presiding, a jury found the defendant, Delia Gualdina Velasquez, 50, guilty of Aggravated Kidnapping. Following her conviction, the jury sentenced the defendant to 45 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

This case began on Monday, January 4, 2018. On that morning, Ulises Valladares, 47, and his young son were getting ready for school when they heard knocking on their door. Ulises answered the door, and two men pushed their way into the house and bound Ulises and his son with duct tape. The two men then proceeded to ransack the house looking for money. Finding none, the men then took various electronics and kidnapped Ulises. A few hours later, Ulises's brother received a call from someone claiming to be a member of the Gulf Cartel and demanded $20,000.

Law enforcement immediately began investigating the kidnapping. Detectives from Conroe Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to identify one of the two intruders as the spouse of defendant, Delia Gualdina Velasquez. Significantly, Velasquez is the cousin of Ulises Valladares.

Officers then went to Webster, Texas, and located the two men that had entered Ulises's house. Law enforcement also learned Ulises was being held at a home in Harris County. In an unsuccessful effort to rescue Ulises, an FBI agent fatally shot Ulises, believing Ulises was an armed perpetrator.

With two suspects in custody, detectives had reason to believe that Velasquez was also involved in the Aggravated Kidnapping but did not have enough information at that time to make an arrest. Approximately a year later, one of the co-defendants began cooperating with law enforcement. Using the co-defendant information, detectives located additional records, including geolocation information and cell phone data. This new information was instrumental in proving the defendant's involvement in this case. Based on this information, as well as other evidence collected, detectives were able to arrest Velasquez.

During her time in the Montgomery County Jail, Velasquez confessed to another inmate that she was upset with a family member over a deal for a truck Velasquez also admitted that she asked her husband to scare the family member.

At trial, the State was able to show that Velasquez was deeply involved in the planning and execution of the kidnapping. Among other actions. Velasquez showed her husband where the complainant lived, provided her husband with warnings throughout the day of the kidnapping, and took her husband to pick up the ransom phone. Hearing the evidence presented, the jury convicted Velasquez and sentenced her to 45 years in prison.

This case was a multi-agency effort to identify and seek justice against each member that participated in the Aggravated Kidnapping of Ulises Valladares. The Conroe Police Department, the Houston Police Department, Cedar Hill Police Department Children's Safe Harbor, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in investigating this case and apprehending the offenders.

Assistant District Attorney Donna Hansen: 'Because of a 13-year-old grudge, this defendant selfishly acted against her own family. The result of those selfish actions is that now a 12-year-old boy has lost his father forever. This selfishness is beyond offensive—it's inexcusable, unacceptable, and intolerable, and the lengthy prison sentence delivered by the jury was absolutely appropriate. We hope that the sentence will bring some measure of peace to the grieving members of the family members so needlessly wronged.'

District Attorney Brett Ligon: 'Obtaining justice in this unusual kidnapping case required a great deal of time, resources, and patience by a combined team of law enforcement officers and Montgomery County District Attorney prosecutors. Fortunately, the jury awarded those efforts and did what they could to right a wrong for this aggrieved family. As always, we are grateful for their service.'