Third suspect charged in ‘cartel-related’ kidnapping

SMITH COUNTY — A third person has been charged in connection to the March “cartel-related” kidnapping of a Tyler man. According to our news partner KETK, Brandon Markeith Jeffrey, owner of Mile High Eatery in the Tyler Pounds Airport, is accused of taking part in the kidnapping and was taken into custody on Thursday.

In March, Smith County officials said a man was found safe in the DFW area after being kidnapped from his Tyler driveway. According to an affidavit, his captors, identified as Julio Cesar Cordova and Walybert Eron Cordova-Rascon, demanded $10,000 from the family to return the victim. At the time, the Smith County Sheriff said the kidnapping was “cartel-related.”

Officials were able to trace the victim’s location to the Fort Worth-Arlington area from cell phone pings. The affidavit said Fort Worth police found the victim in the backseat of the car and detained Cordova and Rascon who were in possession of firearms.

A search of the vehicle reportedly revealed a notebook that indicated the victim owed 11 kilos of a drug as well as $80,000. The arrest documents said a search of the victim’s phone showed he was engaged in the purchasing and selling of illegal narcotics.

The documents said Rascon told detectives that a man, later identified as Jeffrey, told them where the victim lived.

In April, Rascon allegedly said La Linea cartel based out of Juarez, Mexico had tasked him to locate the victim because of a debt. According to the affidavit, it was then when Jeffrey’s contact information was shared with Rascon so they could find the victim.

The arrest documents said Jeffrey met with Cordova and Rascon in Tyler and led them to the victim’s residence before driving away. It was found that between 2020 and 2023, Jeffrey made seven border crossings and had admitted to picking up four kilos of cocaine from the Mexico border in 2018.

The arrest documents said Jeffrey’s cell phone records showed he had been in contact with people who were targets in narcotics and firearm trafficking investigations and criminal histories related to narcotics trafficking.

Jeffrey is being held at the Smith County Jail and was charged with aggravated kidnapping.