California flight instructors kidnap student to deport back to China
REDDING, CALIFORNIA — A California flight instructor and his assistant attempted to carry out a vigilante deportation on a foreign student, only to be thwarted by police.
The Washington Post reports that Jonathan McConkey and Kelsi Hoser worked at the IASCO Flight Training school in Redding, which was contracted by China's Civil Aviation Authority to train new pilots.
According to a statement from Redding police, the two employees showed up at one trainee's apartment Thursday night, ordering him to pack and be ready to go back to China in the morning.
The trainee, Tianshu "Chris" Shi, has been in the states for seven months on an M-1 visa, after his university paid IASCO 70 grand to train him. He'd been grounded for the past two months though, and thinks it's due to his limited English.
Shi refused to leave when the pair came back the next morning, and was threatened by McConkey, who grabbed his arm and bent him over the kitchen island.
He managed to call his brother in Shanghai for help before being taken away. The brother then called the cops to report the kidnapping.
Redding police officers found Shi at the municipal airport, rescuing him before he could be loaded onto a plane, and arresting his captors.
McConkey and Hoser had planned to fly the 21-year-old to the Bay Area and put him on another plane to China. They've since been charged with conspiracy and kidnapping.
The Washington Post reports that Jonathan McConkey and Kelsi Hoser worked at the IASCO Flight Training school in Redding, which was contracted by China's Civil Aviation Authority to train new pilots.
According to a statement from Redding police, the two employees showed up at one trainee's apartment Thursday night, ordering him to pack and be ready to go back to China in the morning.
The trainee, Tianshu "Chris" Shi, has been in the states for seven months on an M-1 visa, after his university paid IASCO 70 grand to train him. He'd been grounded for the past two months though, and thinks it's due to his limited English.
Shi refused to leave when the pair came back the next morning, and was threatened by McConkey, who grabbed his arm and bent him over the kitchen island.
He managed to call his brother in Shanghai for help before being taken away. The brother then called the cops to report the kidnapping.
Redding police officers found Shi at the municipal airport, rescuing him before he could be loaded onto a plane, and arresting his captors.
McConkey and Hoser had planned to fly the 21-year-old to the Bay Area and put him on another plane to China. They've since been charged with conspiracy and kidnapping.
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