Two men indicted in boy’s abduction
Two men accused of bursting into a Las Vegas home in October and abducting a 6-year-old boy to seek revenge for a drug deal gone bad were indicted this week on one charge of conspiring to kidnap a child.
Jose Lopez-Buelna, 49, and Luis Vega-Rubio, 36, hired Cole Puffinburger’s grandfather, Clemens Fred Tinnemeyer, to help run drugs and cash through the United States and into Canada and Mexico between November 2007 and July 2008, according to the indictment.
Lopez-Buelna provided cash to Tinnemeyer to buy a motor home outfitted with hidden compartments to conceal cash and cocaine during his runs to Mexico.
Lopez-Buelna also provided Tinnemeyer with a cell phone and paid him between $20,000 and $40,000 per trip, according to the indictment.
Federal prosecutors say the deal between the three went sour in the summer of 2008 after Tinnemeyer made a trip to Atlanta with a female partner.
Tinnemeyer and the woman found $4,000 cash in a secret portal in their recreation vehicle, the indictment states. They took the cash, ditched the cell phone and never returned to Las Vegas.
In July Tinnemeyer’s daughter, Cole’s mother, received a hand-written note at her home.
According to the indictment the note said: “we are waiting for you to get here. or to call the people you know. the people get wait know more. So we give you one week to report yourself. and to get here we know about all your family. where they are at. so you call us. and you know were at or you know what going to happen. WE DON”T PLAY KNOW GAMS.”
On Oct. 15, a Hispanic male disguising himself as a police officer stormed Julie Puffinburger’s home and held the family at gunpoint. The young boy was taken.
According to the indictment, Cole was held at two different locations, although it does not specify where.
He was transported in a suitcase, the indictment states.
On Oct. 18, news outlets aired and published photographs of Lopez-Buelna, announcing the man was a person of interest in the kidnapping a case.
News reports of Tinnemeyer’s arrest and the discovery of $3.7 million were also publicized.
A bus driver spotted Cole walking alone the night of Oct. 18 in the area of Oakey Boulevard and 17th Street.
Authorities believe the kidnappers planned to hold the boy for ransom after Tinnemeyer stole $4 million while working for them as a drug courier.
Although law enforcement does not believe Cole’s mother, Julie Puffinburger, was involved in any crimes, the boy was placed in the custody of his father pending a custody hearing.
Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.
