Suspected home invaders arrested in ‘targeted kidnapping’ of couple ripped from children: police


A Texas couple kidnapped from their home at gunpoint as their five children looked on have since returned home safely as two men are charged in the apparent home invasion, police say.

Xhavier Zeke Martinez, 29, and Felipe Patricio Valdez, 40, were escorted out of San Antonio police headquarters in handcuffs and led into the back of squad cars on Thursday ahead of a press conference on the incident.

Sgt. Washington Moscoso told reporters that detectives worked “through the night” to find the couple whose “family was separated in such a violent way.”

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Xhavier Zeke Martinez, 29, and 40-year-old Felipe Patricio Valdez, pictured, were charged with aggravated kidnapping on Thursday after police said they forced a San Antonio couple from their home at gunpoint. (San Antonio Police Department)

The two victims, a man and woman who police did not identify due to ongoing safety concerns, were forced into a white SUV outside their home at Mission Bell around 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

“The two individuals were at their home and multiple individuals entered their home bearing weapons and kidnapped them,” Moscoso said.

“This was a targeted kidnapping, it wasn’t a random act,” Moscoso said. “These individuals didn’t just pick a random house … this was a targeted kidnapping to this particular family.”

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Xhavier Martinez, 29

Xhavier Martinez, pictured, was reportedly wanted on warrants for deadly conduct with a firearm, evading arrest and interfering with public duties. He was charged with aggravated kidnapping on Sept. 7, 2023. (San Antonio Police Department)

A SWAT team reportedly descended on the home this morning once investigators determined where the couple was being held.

“People started coming out of the house” when they noticed the police presence outside, Moscoso said, including the couple. Martinez and Valdez were “arrested without incident.”

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Xhavier Martinez, 29

Police said Xhavier Martinez, pictured, and Felipe Valdez were “arrested without incident” after they saw that police had surrounded them and walked outside with the kidnapped couple.

Moscoso did not specify whether the couple was handcuffed or restrained in any way or how many people were inside the house where they were held. Both the man and woman were “medically cleared” to return to their family today, he said.

Investigators are now searching the property, officials said.

A warrant was reportedly out for Martinez’s arrest on charges of deadly conduct with a firearm, evading arrest and interfering with public duties.

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3100 block of Mission Bell

A man and woman in their 30s were abducted from their home on Mission Bell in San Antonio. (Google Earth)

The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office could not be reached for further details on the search or Martinez’s previous arrests.

Police declined to release the name of the third man wanted in relation to the kidnapping.



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