By james art A 76-year-old man who pleaded guilty to his role in kidnapping an Irvine woman to extort money from her family was sentenced Friday to four years in prison or time already served behind bars awaiting trial.
Ezra Schley pleaded guilty on October 8, 2021 to felony burglary. As part of his plea agreement, charges of kidnapping for ransom or extortion and attempted extortion by force or threat were dismissed, according to court records. His city of residence was not disclosed.
“He was just involved in something by those guys,” said Schley’s attorney, Cameron Talley. “He was just an old man and they used his office or he said, ‘Hey, will you help drive.’
Co-defendants Yang “Rose” Wang, 42, of Huntington Beach, and Rekha Soylular, 60, of Newport Beach, pleaded guilty in June to kidnapping for extortion, burglary and attempted extortion by force or threat, all felonies. They were sentenced to six years and six months in prison.
Co-defendant George Armando Medrano, 36, pleaded guilty on June 29, 2022, to kidnapping, burglary and attempted extortion, all felonies. Medrano was then sentenced to 13 years and eight months in prison, according to court records. His city of residence was not disclosed.
The four kidnapped the victim from her apartment on Aug. 28, 2019, and then demanded a large sum of money from her husband and mother-in-law for her safe return, according to Kimberly Eads, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The accused sent her family photos to the victim through an online application, Eds said. The victim was “previously known” to at least one of the four, she said, but did not elaborate on why the woman was targeted in what was characterized as an “isolated incident.”
The woman was rescued by Irvine police after her mother-in-law called to request a welfare check, according to the district attorney’s office.