An El Paso man was sentenced to four years in federal prison after being convicted of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and threatening to shoot her in the New Mexico desert in Chaparral.
Leland Alexander Drumheller, 20, a Northeast resident, was sentenced on Monday, Nov. 24, after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in El Paso to a federal kidnapping case that crossed state lines from Texas to New Mexico, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
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After he completes his term in prison, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered that Drumheller be on supervised release for five years, court documents stated.
A criminal complaint filed by an FBI special agent stated that Drumheller’s ex-girlfriend feared for her life during the abduction with her describing Drumheller as “scary” with “a history of extreme rage” and having been seen with a handgun in the past.
Kidnapped El Paso woman taken to New Mexico desert
The kidnapping occurred on Jan. 20 after Drumheller sent a text message to his ex-girlfriend asking her to return his sweatshirt. They met inside his vehicle in front of her apartment, the complaint stated.
During the meeting, “Drumheller became enraged” and grabbed the woman to keep her from exiting his vehicle as he drove off toward Chaparral, a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release stated.
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During stops on at least three traffic lights, the woman tried to escape, but Drumheller grabbed her hair and sweatshirt to keep her inside the vehicle, the complaint stated.
At one point, the woman received a phone call from her boyfriend, whom she told to “call the cops” before Drumheller threw her phone out of the vehicle as he drove into the desert in Chaparral, the complaint stated.
An El Paso man was sentenced to four years in federal prison for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and taking her into the desert in Chaparral, New Mexico. File image of police lights.
In the desert, Drumheller told the woman to get out of the vehicle, ordered her to get on her knees and placed his cell phone to the back of her head, making her believe it was a gun, the complaint stated.
“If you play me again, it’ll get worse,” Drumheller told her, threatening to shoot her if she followed him. He then got in his vehicle and drove away, leaving her in the desert, the complaint stated.
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Drumheller was arrested on the kidnapping charge on Feb. 3 following an investigation by the FBI and the El Paso Police Department.
El Paso County court records show Drumheller also has drug-related charges pending in a December 2024 case.
If you are in an abusive relationship or need someone to talk to, call the Center Against Sexual and Family Violence 24-Hour Crisis Hopeline at 915-593-7300 or 1-800-727-0511. For more information visit casfv.org and loveisrespect.org
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man sentenced in Texas-New Mexico kidnapping of woman