Four people were charged Wednesday with multiple felonies in connection with the Aug. 28 kidnapping of an Irvine woman and holding her for ransom, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Ezra Schley, 71, and Yang “Rose” Wang, 37, both of Huntington Beach, Reha Soylular, 54, of Newport Beach, and George Armando Medrano, 34, of Norco, were each charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping for ransom and extortion, one count of residential burglary, and one count of attempted extortion.
Medrano is also facing one count of a felon in possession of ammunition and one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana for sale.
Schley was charged with one misdemeanor count of carrying a loaded firearm in public.
The incident took place on Aug. 28 when the four allegedly kidnapped a woman from her Irvine apartment in an attempt to extort a large sum of money from her husband and mother-in-law, prosecutors said.
They are also accused of sending photos of the victim being held captive to the woman’s husband through a chatting app.
The victim was rescued by the Irvine Police Department after the mother-in-law called police and requested a welfare check.
“Diligent police work by the Irvine Police Department helped locate this victim before further trauma could be inflicted on her and her loved ones,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a written statement.
Investigators said the victim was acquainted with at least one of the suspects.
All four suspects face a minimum of seven years and a maximum sentence of life if convicted on all charges, prosecutors said. They are currently being held at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail.