Food truck worker kidnapped by man pretending to need a ride in Texas, feds say

A food truck worker in El Paso, Texas, offered to help when two men approached him asking for a ride to a nearby gas station, federal officials said.

Then the men, armed with a gun and machete, hijacked his vehicle and forced him to drive them to Las Cruces, New Mexico, prosecutors said.

Fernando Angel Puga, 36, of Las Cruces, was found guilty Tuesday, May 24, of charges including kidnapping and carjacking in the 2017 crime, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Texas said in a news release.

Puga and Sergio Ivan Quinonez-Venegas, 38, of Mexico, approached the man and told him their vehicle broke down, prosecutors said.

When he agreed to take them to a gas station, they forced him at gun- and knife-point to drive them about 45 miles north to Las Cruces, the release said.

Once they arrived, Puga attacked the man with a machete, leaving him with skull injuries, lacerations and puncture wounds, prosecutors said.

Puga faces up to life in prison, the release said. Quinonez-Venegas pleaded guilty to carjacking in February and faces up to 25 years in prison.

No contact information for Puga’s attorney was available.

This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Food truck worker kidnapped by man pretending to need a ride in Texas, feds say."