Akron man convicted of kidnapping his son, shooting the mother

SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - The man accused of kidnapping his four-year-old son and shooting the boy’s mother pleaded guilty in Summit County Court of Common Pleas Tuesday afternoon.

Judge Susan Baker Ross then Jose Castro to 15 years in prison.

“You’ve got a child to come home to,” Ross said. “[He] may, when you get out, want some sort of relationship with you, so keep that in your heart while you’re there and try to be the best you can be.”

According to Akron police, Castro shot Elsie Rivera Ortiz in the 1100 block of Tulip Street around 6:50 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2022.

Officers were called to the scene for a woman shot and when officers arrived, Ortiz was unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds, according to police.

“I was given 10% chance of life. It was a big chance I was not going to walk again,” Rivera Ortiz said. “It was probably going to take me months. It took me four days to stand on my own feet. I was back at work within a month.”

While EMS was treating Ortiz, officers talked to witnesses who reported Castro had taken the couple’s child and driven off after the shooting, said police.

Police issued a statewide Amber Alert for the child and the boy was turned into detectives unharmed later that evening.

Castro was found and captured early Sept. 20, 2022 at a gas station in Cleveland.

Ortiz was transported to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital. Family members said she is recovering from her injuries.

Copyright 2023 WOIO. All rights reserved.