Suspect in Kidnap Ring Cooperating With Feds
A Sherman Oaks man charged in the kidnapping of one of five people found dead in the gold country led authorities to the lake where the bodies were dumped and is cooperating with prosecutors, according to court documents obtained Monday.
The suspect, 42-year-old Ainar Altmanis, wanted to “tell the FBI everything” after his arrest in February, and later worked out a “use immunity” agreement with federal prosecutors, his attorney, Ellen M. Barry, says in the documents.
Typically, such agreements prevent anything informants say from being used against them.
Altmanis is one of six people charged in what authorities describe as a kidnap-for-ransom ring. The suspects, most from the San Fernando Valley, have roots in Eastern Europe, authorities said.
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