PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – A U.S. court has charged Haitian gang leader Vitel’homme Innocent for his role in the plot to kidnap an American couple and the death of the wife who was shot dead when armed men entered their home.
According to court documents unsealed on Tuesday, after breaking into Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin’s Haiti residence in October 2022, Innocent’s co-conspirators kidnapped Jean Franklin and demanded a ransom of as much as $150,000 for his release.
Innocent, who leads the powerful Kraze Barye gang in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, was already on the FBI’s wanted list with a bounty of $1 million, citing his role in the 2021 kidnapping of 17 Christian missionaries.
The unsealed court document charges the 37-year-old with hostage taking as well as the conspiracy and attempt to take a hostage, resulting in a death.
Innocent and others began planning kidnapping the couple days before forcing entry to their home on Oct. 7, 2022, the document said, when armed conspirators shot dead Marie Odette Franklin and took her husband to an unknown location.
Though a ransom of $8,000 was initially agreed, after Innocent’s participation the demand shot up to as much as $150,000, before the kidnappers eventually agreed to a lower sum and released Jean Franklin weeks after his abduction.
According to the document, Innocent’s gang has used revenue from car thefts, extortion and kidnapping to pay for weapons and ammunition from the United States and elsewhere.
The U.S. District Court of Columbia unsealed the case as countries mull sending troops to support a U.N.-ratified force requested by Haiti’s government to help outgunned police combat gangs, who have grown their wealth, power and arsenals.
A recent U.N. report said Innocent’s 600-strong Kraze Barye has become one of the capital’s most powerful gangs, saying it is responsible for thefts, looting, displacements, rapes, murders, and kidnappings of prominent journalists and officials.
