Mercedes Salazar
© Bexar County Sheriff's OfficeMercedes Salazar, 32, is accused of kidnapping her slain brother's ex-girlfriend in revenge for her suspicions that the 25-year-old woman had something to do with her brother's death. Salazar was arrested early Sunday.
A Texas woman took revenge on her slain brother's ex-girlfriend by rounding up a crew that abducted and drugged her, police said.

Mercedes Salazar, 32, was arrested early Sunday in the kidnapping of a 25-year-old woman who was found screaming for her life at a home on San Antonio's West Side last month, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies rescued the victim Sept. 9 when one of three other accomplices who have already been arrested fell asleep and the woman managed to contact her mom, officials in the sheriff's office said.

The group led by the longtime offender Salazar - whose brother was murdered in August - held the victim captive for three days inside the house in a subdivision near Lackland Air Force Base, Bexar County Sheriff's spokesman James Keith told KENS-TV.

At many points in the time period while she was there, they had zip-tied her to a chair and threatened to kill and harm her with scissors and a knife," Keith said. "We even have reason to believe that there was a blood ritual performed on her."

Deputies said the kidnappers drew blood from the woman's palm and cut off part of her hair. The victim also told investigators they injected her with heroin and forced her to take a yellow and white pill that made her pass out, according to arresting documents cited by KENS.

Salazar and another one of the abductors, James Cerda, 29, left Teanna San Nicolas to watch the victim when they ran errands on Sept. 9, deputies said. The woman convinced San Nicolas to untie her so that she could use the bathroom and move freely in the house before San Nicolas dozed off and the victim got in touch with her mother, according to the sheriff's office.

Deputies surrounded the home moments later and heard the woman screaming for help, so they forced their way in. They immediately arrested San Nicolas when they found her inside threatening the victim with a knife and scissors, officials in the sheriff's office said. The victim survived the kidnapping without serious injuries.

Salazar and Cerda believed the victim had something to do with the unsolved August death of Mercedes' brother Angel Salazar, officials in the sheriff's office said. The woman once dated the man who was found slain at an abandoned apartment building.

Investigators are still looking into whether Salazar's eventual victim was involved in the homicide, officials in the sheriff's office told KENS-TV. Those circumstances won't affect the prosecution of Salazar, the sheriff's spokesman said.

We are the ones responsible for carrying out justice and arresting people. We don't trust the public to go do that," Keith said. "That's what this Mercedes Salazar and some of her colleagues decided to do."

Salazar, Cerda and San Nicolas now face aggravated kidnapping charges. Cerda was also charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and a parole violation and a fourth suspect, Tristan Smith, has also been arrested, according to the sheriff's department.

Before deputies cuffed her Sunday, Salazar had been booked 11 different times in Bexar County jail on 43 charges since she was 17 years old.