Court record describes night Garner mother and baby girl were kidnapped from home
In just minutes, a Garner man went from unloading groceries to begging for his family’s lives after three masked intruders broke into his home one night last month.
The woman and two men charged now face federal charges, and a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday gives the first full account of what authorities say happened.
Eleodoro “Leo” Estrada-Hernandez, 37, and siblings Paola Duran Duran, 25, and Miguel Angel Duran Duran, 23, are accused of breaking into a Buck Branch Drive home just before 11 p.m. April 28, The N&O previously reported.
The three kidnapped Alondra Michelle Benitez De Jesus, 26, and her 13-month-old daughter after tying up De Jesus’ husband with duct tape, police said.
Here’s what we know about the federal case against the three people charged.
‘Stop fighting’
As De Jesus’ husband unloaded groceries on the driveway that night, he noticed a black Nissan Altima passing by twice, according to the federal complaint. Thinking it was odd, he noted the Altima’s distinctive blue after-market headlights and generic North Carolina license plate, the complaint states.
Minutes after he went inside, a knock came at the door.
When he answered, a young woman standing there asked for “Maria.” As he tried to tell her there was no one at the home by that name, two men in ski masks forced their way inside. One carried a semi-automatic handgun, according to the complaint.
“No one will be hurt,” the men told him when he struggled. “Stop fighting.”
One of the men tackled De Jesus’ husband to the ground, duct taping his hands behind his back and covering his eyes and mouth with the tape as the suspect held a gun to the back of his head, the complaint alleges. He could hear the young woman telling his wife to calm down and to get him to calm down.
Minutes later, the woman and one of the men left the house with De Jesus and their daughter, while the other man stayed behind with De Jesus’ husband, according to the complaint.
He told him not to call 911, that the “man they worked for” wanted $1 million, and that he could expect a call at 5 p.m. the next day, the complaint states.
Three or four minutes after his wife and child were taken, De Jesus’ husband heard the remaining suspect step outside and speak in Spanish to someone on the phone, saying, “Let me know when you’re at a good distance,” according to the complaint.
De Jesus’ husband was moved to the couch and had his bindings cut with a knife before the final suspect left. Security cameras captured the man driving off about 10:45 p.m. — just under 30 minutes after the trio arrived, according to the complaint.
De Jesus’ husband could only watch from the window as the last suspect drove away in the Altima. After freeing himself, he called his father, then dialed 911 about 10:53 p.m., the complaint states. He gave investigators descriptions of the female suspect, the Altima and what he’d experienced, noting that he believed the suspects were Mexican like him because of their accents and Spanish vocabulary.
How law enforcement tracked down the suspects
License plate recognition cameras captured the Altima, which was registered to a Raleigh address, according to the complaint. When authorities went to the home, they found the Altima parked and unlocked, with duct tape and two pairs of surgical gloves visible inside. The Altima was registered to Paola Duran Duran’s estranged husband, who told police he still let her use it and another car, a red Chevy Equinox.
Ring doorbell footage from a home across the street captured the Altima, Equinox and a red pickup truck about 10:56 p.m. April 28, the complaint states. The footage showed an adult holding a small child getting out of the Altima and into the truck.
“One individual went into the trailer at the Raleigh address and just seconds later ran back out of the trailer and got into the Chevy Equinox,” the complaint says. “The pickup truck then pulled away from the residence and the Equinox followed.”
Investigators found the Equinox and Miguel Duran Duran at a South Raleigh business on April 29, according to the complaint. He agreed to let them search the SUV and to go to the station with them.
Meanwhile, Paola Duran Duran was arrested at the Raleigh home tied to the Altima after a friend dropped her off at 1:25 p.m. April 29, the complaint states.
The complaint doesn’t specify how officials found Estrada-Hernandez, whose federal charges have yet to be unsealed.
What investigators learned
Miguel Duran Duran was the first to cooperate with investigators, telling them he had worked with Estrada-Hernandez at a plumbing company a few years ago. His sister, Paola, had also worked there, according to the complaint.
Miguel told officials he’d reached out to Estrada-Hernandez on WhatsApp two days before the kidnapping to ask if he knew of any ways he could make $200, as he was short on money. Estrada-Hernandez arranged a meeting with the Duran Durans at Miguel’s house April 28, the complaint states.
“[Estrada-Hernandez] told Miguel and Paola that they could make $100,000 if they helped him with this job, to which they agreed,” the complaint says. “Miguel and Paola were told they were going to break into someone’s house who owed a drug debt and threaten them to pay the debt.”
De Jesus’ husband was supposed to be the only person in the house, Miguel told investigators. He said Estrada-Hernandez “called the shots” during the kidnapping, sending the Duran Duran siblings away with De Jesus and her child while Estrada-Hernandez remained with De Jesus’ husband, the complaint alleges.
The trio returned the Altima to its Raleigh home, then drove to a trailer in Wake Forest, with Estrada-Hernandez driving Miguel and the victims in his pick-up truck and Paola following in the Equinox, the complaint states. At the trailer, Estrada-Hernandez ordered Paola to bathe De Jesus “to wash any evidence off her skin and clothes,” according to the complaint.
But the Amber Alert for De Jesus and her baby sent around 5 a.m. spooked the trio, who then dropped the victims off on a dirt road in Wake Forest about 15 minutes from the trailer. A homeowner took the mother and baby in and called De Jesus’ husband to report his wife and daughter were safe, according to the complaint. Law enforcement recovered the victims about 7 a.m.
Paola Duran Duran initially declined to speak with authorities, but after agents played her a video of her brother encouraging her to cooperate, she corroborated his story, according to the complaint.
Estrada-Hernandez was captured in Knightdale on Friday by the FBI after a brief search, The N&O reported.
All told, the trio faced 10 charges in Wake County, according to court documents:
- Two charges each of first-degree kidnapping and one charge each of second-degree kidnapping
- Charges of assault by pointing a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon for Estrada-Hernandez
But the Wake County District Attorney’s Office filed paperwork Tuesday to have those charges dismissed, writing that all three were being indicted federally.
Now, they are all charged with kidnapping and aiding and abetting, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, according to a news release.
Garner police said Tuesday they still cannot publicly comment on a potential motive in the kidnapping.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM.
