Jaimes Aung made his first appearance in court Friday after a grand jury indicted him on Thursday alongside his 21-year-old son Aaron Aung.
Jaimes was indicted August 7 on one count of Conspiracy to Commit International Parental Kidnapping and one count of aiding and abetting International Parental Kidnapping.
According to court documents, Jaimes is accused of providing and storing the car Aaron used for the alleged kidnapping. The FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the car Aaron photographed and recorded driving across the U.S.-Mexico border June 1 is registered to his father.
The documents also claim that between May 31 and June 16, Jaimes helped his son avoid law enforcement.
In court Friday, prosecutor Rebecca Perez described the coded, encrypted messages Jaimes is believed to have sent to his son while Aaron was in Mexico. The indictment says Jaimes warned his son of the ongoing investigation and suggested how to avoid state and federal officials.
"'FBI tracking family, so far got nothing,' 'national news: don't get nervous,' and 'use a disguise,'" Perez said Jaimes texted.
She added "burner" phones were purchased and Jaimes's car was stored in a north Idaho storage unit in mid-May, before Aaron Aung exchanged custody with his daughter's mother on May 29 as part of a court-ordered parenting plan.
Perez says the FBI was able to track the license plate and phones, with one crossing the international border and one in Moscow.
Friday's hearing was abruptly continued until Wednesday, after prosecutors and Aung's defense attorney couldn't verify his financial information or who owns the company he works for. Judge James Goeke said he needs to know if Aung has the financial resources to flee if released.
Aaron Aung was booked into jail July 31 on an international parental kidnapping charge. He was found in Mexico with his fiancé and two-year-old daughter. Mexican authorities took Aung and his daughter to the port of entry near Nogales, Arizona, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection took them into custody.
Court documents say Aaron did not appear at the scheduled custodial exchange with the daughter's mother May 29; it was later discovered that he, his daughter and his fiancé, Nadia Cole, had made their way to Mexico before eventually being found in early July.
Cole has not been charged.
