February 25, 2026 – Claudia Gonzales, 39, of Fresno, pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to kidnapping involving a minor, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, on May 8, 2024, a woman reported her boyfriend after a domestic violence incident, which resulted in his arrest. In retaliation for calling the
police, the boyfriend’s sister, Rosa Ventura, 35, of Fresno, persuaded the woman to place her 5-month-old daughter in the care of another sister. Ventura, with Gonzales hiding in the back of the SUV, then drove the woman and her 9-year-old daughter to an unknown field outside Fresno.
At the field, Gonzales emerged from the SUV’s rear cargo area and sat in the front seat. Throughout the night, Ventura and Gonzales continued to drive the mother and child against their will toward the Mexican border. At one point, they stopped at a gas station where the mother and child attempted to flee. Gonzales chased the 9‑year-old girl and forced her back into the car. Gonzales and Ventura then caught the mother and used a stun gun to physically force her back into the car. When Gonzales and Ventura arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, they dropped mother and daughter at an unknown bus station in an effort to prevent the mother from testifying in the domestic violence case where she was a victim…