The Supreme Court of Justice has upheld the conviction of the kidnappers of former TC racer Eduardo 'Lalo' Ramos, sentencing them to up to 15 years in prison. The court rejected the defense's appeal as inadmissible. The case dates back to the night of August 18, 2015, when Ramos and his friend Fernando Villar were kidnapped at kilometer 40 of Route 2, in the Berazategui district. The criminals, posing as police officers, stopped their car during a fake checkpoint. After identifying themselves as law enforcement, they forced the victims out of the vehicle, restrained them, and beat them. One of them was hit with a rifle butt, and Ramos received an electric shock from a cattle prod on his shoulder. The captives were held for nearly eight hours until the kidnappers collected a $35,000 ransom and released the victims. In 2019, the Oral Criminal Court No. 1 sentenced Pablo Franco Canabe Rogel, Gabriel Arnaldo Villalba, and Pablo Javier Gaitan to 15 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping with extortion, involving multiple individuals and the use of firearms. MatÃas Emanuel Avalos received a sentence of six years and eight months as a secondary participant. The conviction was subsequently confirmed by higher courts before being finalized by the Supreme Court.
