Federal Jury Convicts El Paso Woman in Kidnapping Case

In El Paso today, a federal jury convicted 36–year-old Norma Juarez Taha on federal charges in connection with the kidnapping of a 20-year-old female in El Paso in February 2017, announced United States Attorney John F. Bash and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie, Jr.

The jury convicted Taha on one count of kidnapping and one count of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.  Evidence presented during trial revealed that on February 13, 2017, the defendant, known to her victim as Sister Norma, went into the victim’s house at approximately 3:30 A.M. and lured the victim out of the house by telling her that her family was in danger and that immigration authorities were attempting to deport them.  The defendant drove the victim to a remote residence on the east side of El Paso that belonged to Taha’s mother.  At the residence, the victim saw that Taha was in possession of a firearm.  Subsequently, Taha placed the victim in her mother’s truck and injected her with a mixture of drugs.    Taha’s mother then drove the victim across the border to a residence in Juarez.  Taha and her mother left the victim at that residence and never returned.  At approximately 10:30 P.M. on February 13, 2017, two individuals at the residence transported the victim to the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry.  The victim was then transported to an El Paso hospital where she received medical attention.

Further investigation by FBI agents revealed that Taha agreed to kidnap the victim on the ground that her lifestyle brought embarrassment to her family.  During a search of the defendant’s vehicle and residence, authorities discovered the firearm possessed by Taha, as well as the medication used by Taha to inject the victim during the kidnapping.

Taha faces up to life in federal prison on the kidnapping charge and a minimum of five years in federal prison on the firearms charge.  She remains in federal custody pending sentencing scheduled for May 22, 2018, before United States District Judge Frank Montalvo in El Paso.

The FBI investigated this case.  Assistant United States Attorneys Patricia Acosta and Shane Wagman are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.