Authorities arrest two in alleged kidnap case

German Guadiana, left, and Juan Carlos Valdez-Pacheco, right, have been charged with kidnapping a Mountain Home man late Wednesday night from his home.

Two men were arrested following a traffic stop early Thursday morning on charges that they had kidnapped a Mountain Home man who was in the vehicle with them.

The incident began Wednesday evening when David Steward, of Mountain Home, was visiting a friend's house on the north side of the city.

At that time, two Hispanic males, Juan Carlos Valdez-Pacheco, of Culiacan, Mexico, and German Guadiana, of Phoenix, Ariz., came to the house looking for a friend of Steward, apparently attempting to collect a drug debt, according to Capt. Mike Barclay, chief of detectives for the Elmore County Sheriff's Office.

Steward stepped outside of the house, where several other people were present, to talk to Valdez-Pacheco and Guadina. At that point, investigators believe, Guadian displayed a gun and ordered Steward into their car, demanding that he go with them to find Stewards' friend (who remains unidentified so far by authorities). The people inside the house were apparently not aware of what had happened.

A short time later Valdez-Pacheco and Guadina allegedly stopped their car on Highway 51, ordered Steward out of the vehicle, and robbed him. Then they ordered him back into the vehicle and drove to the Redford Hotel in Glenns Ferry, where they switched cars, and then headed back to Mountain Home on I-84.

At that time their vehicle was spotted allegedly doing 96 mph and Elmore County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Henslee pulled the car over at milepost 116 about five minutes after midnight Thursday morning for a speeding violation.

Henslee approached the car and talked to the driver and passengers, but, becoming suspicious of their behavior, radioed for back up. When the back-up patrol car arrived all three of the occupants of the vehicle were removed and questioned separately.

It was at that point, Barclay said, that Steward told the officers that he had been taken against his will at gunpoint and that the other two men were armed. He also allegedly told the officers that the two men intended to kill him.

Both men were immediately placed under arrest and taken to the Elmore County Jail.

"With an officer that alert, and his basic instincts" kicking in, Barclay said, praising Henslee, "it is clear to me that he probably saved David Steward's life."

Valdez-Pacheco was booked into the Elmore County Jail on charges of kidnapping, robbery and carrying a concealed weapon without a license. Guadiana was booked on the same charges, as well as driving without privileges.

Both men were arraigned on the charges Thursday afternoon before Magistrate Judge George Hicks. Guadiana was ordered held on $300,000 bond and Valdez-Pacheco on a $250,000 bond.

Authorities are considering adding additional charges as their continuing investigation unfolds. The incident is being investigated by Elmore County deputies and the Mountain Home Police Department.