Manhattan resident Tex Ortiz pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court on Friday to a kidnapping, in which five people – including a 9-month-old – were held hostage at gunpoint during a botched home invasion in Richmond Hill in December 2020.
Ortiz, 38, of First Avenue, pleaded guilty before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gia Morris to kidnapping in the second degree. The case against his co-defendant Wilbert Wilson, 53, of Valentine Avenue in the Bronx is pending.
According to the charges, on the night of Nov. 17, 2020, Ortiz and Wilson used a crowbar to enter through a back door of a home on 125th Street in Richmond Hill where they believed a large amount of cash was stashed. Inside the residence were four women and a 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 from the 106th Precinct in Richmond Hill arrived on the scene, the young mother ran from the home clutching her baby daughter in her arms. The other victims were threatened by the defendants at gunpoint. A standoff ensued and after two hours, Ortiz and Wilson let two of the hostages go free.
Ortiz and Wilson at one point used their last 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. The defendants surrendered to police after releasing the last hostage just after 2 a.m.
Two guns were recovered at the crime scene.
“Fortunately, a highly volatile and dangerous standoff ended safely,” Queens District Attorney Melinda 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.”
Justice Morris indicated she will sentence Ortiz to a determinate term of 13 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for July 31.
