iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
The brother of the suspect in the Merced County kidnapping case has been arrested for being part of the conspiracy. Police authorities of Merced County arrested Alberto Salgado hours after the bodies of the four abducted Singh family members were recovered from an almond orchard in Northern California.
On Monday, October 3, a family of four – Eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri and her parents — 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur and 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh and her uncle, 39-year-old Amandeep Singh – was abducted from their place of business in Merced, around 101 miles south-east of San Jose in California. After an intense search that involved the local police, the FBI, and the Department of Justice, their bodies were found on October 5 evening by a farm worker in a remote area near the intersection of Indiana and Hutchins roads, northeast of Dos Palos.
Alberto’s brother, 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado, was arrested Tuesday. He was booked into the Merced County Jail on four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping, authorities said. Alberto, who was taken into custody on Thursday night, was arrested by authorities of Merced County on charges of criminal conspiracy, accessory, and destroying evidence.
The police also revealed that Jesus Salgado had a longstanding dispute with the Singh family “that got pretty nasty”. Salgado used to work as a driver for the victims’ trucking company. He had also sent angry emails or text messages to the victims a year earlier.
Sheriff of Merced County, Vern Warnke, had said after recovering the bodies: “Tonight, our worse fears have been confirmed.” The Sheriff described the crime as a “horribly senseless” act and added that the police has not yet been able to ascertain the motive behind the abduction and killing. After the family of the victim had been notified, the police processed the crime scene to determine the motive behind the killings.
The Merced police were able to speak to the main suspect Jesus Salgado on Wednesday. Jesus Salgado had tried to kill himself before he could be taken into custody by police on Tuesday. He had been receiving medical attention, which had prevented the investigators from talking to him, the sheriff’s office said. On Wednesday Warnke said that the investigators had spoken with him and that interviews were ongoing.
