A 73-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday for his part in the kidnapping of an Irvine woman to extort money from her family.
Ezra Schley, 71, of Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, according to court records. He was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12.
Co-defendants Yang “Rose” Wang, 39, of Huntington Beach, Reha Soylular, 56, of Newport Beach, and George Armando Medrano, 36, of Norco, are charged with aggravated kidnapping for ransom, burglary and attempted extortion, all felonies.
Medrano was additionally charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition, a felony, and misdemeanor counts of possession of marijuana for sale and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
The other three defendants are next due in court for a pretrial hearing Nov. 4.
The four were charged with kidnapping the victim, identified as Jane Doe, 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 Edds, a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
The defendants sent the victim’s family photos of her through an online app, Edds alleged when charges were filed in September 2019.
The victim was “previously acquainted” with at least one of the four, Edds 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.