In this episode of FBI Case File Review, retired agent Kathy Adams reviews the rescue of kidnapped restaurant owner, Antonio Aguas, who was kidnapped for ransom at gunpoint and held for five days in September 2006. Antonio and his brother, Ramiro Aguas, owned La Bamba, a Mexican restaurant in Champaign, Illinois.
Using cell site analysis during the multi-state investigation, Kathy, along with FBI agents assigned to Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, as well as FBI headquarters and investigators from the Champaign Police Department, were able to identify, track and arrest the kidnappers. Antonio was rescued from a motel room in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The kidnappers, Francisco Villalobos, also known as Adrian Lopez and Terence Merritt, were convicted and sentenced to 31 and 30 years in prison.
Special Agent (Retired)
Kathy Adams
5/1986 – 1/2015
Retired Kathleen Adams served in the FBI for nearly 29 years. After graduating from the academy, she was assigned the New Orleans Field Office.
During her 11 years in New orleans, she became the first female agent to become a SWAT team operator.
Kathy and her team were deployed to Waco during the David Koresh stand-off. Adams also worked the landmark Shattered Shield case involving police corruption involving their protection of drug dealers and the murder of Kim Groves.
She and the case agents were awarded the Extraordinary Service Award given by the Metropolitan Crime Commission of New Orleans.
Kathy’s next assignment was to the Springfield Division in Illinois, where she worked violent crime, focusing on the activities of the Gangster Disciples. She was able to and disrupt their activities and dismantle the gang during her Group I Operation JAGUAR, which resulted in the successful prosecution of over forty individuals. Kathy was recognized with the Directors Award for Outstanding Contributions in Law Enforcement.
Kathy continued serving on SWAT in Springfield and became the first female FBI SWAT team leader, leading several successful missions.
After stepping down from SWAT, Adams became an FBI Crisis Negotiator. In 2001, she was transferred to the Champaign Resident Agency, where she continued to investigate violent crime matters and public corruption, including the case of the kidnapped restaurant owner. She was also the coordinator of the Eastern Illinois Safe Streets Task Force, and the Springfield Division’s primary coordinator for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). As an FBI crisis negotiator, Kathy was involved in training local and federal law enforcement officers. Adams successfully negotiated the surrender of a subject who had murdered two individuals, one a Chief Deputy with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, before taking five people hostage during a violent bank takeover. During her Bureau career, for her work efforts, Kathy received recognition and awards from numerous police and sheriff’s departments, as well as every FBI director she served under.
The following are links to news articles about kidnapped restaurant owner Antonio Aguas, and articles recognizing Kathy Adams’ amazing FBI career:
News-Gazette.com – 6/30/2020: Reduced prison sentence for man convicted in 2006 kidnapping in Champaign
News-Gazette: ‘I’m happy because I’m here’, Aguas – continued from A1
News-Gazette – 9/19/2006: Ordeal has happy ending, Ransom – continued from A1
News-Gazette – 12/5/2006: Mattoon admits role in kidnapping
The News-Gazette – 8/14/2022: Retired, decorated FBI agent: ‘I just wanted to be a cop’
WAND News (VIDEO) – 8/10/2022: Former local FBI Agent made history being the first female
WCIA 3 (VIDEO) – 8/10/2022: First, only FBI SWAT Team Leader ‘knew from first grade’
Listen to these FBI Case File Review episodes to learn more about how the FBI investigates kidnappings.
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