US court charges Haitian gang leader in attack on American couple

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - A U.S. court has charged Haitian gang leader Vitel'homme Innocent for his role in the plot to kidnap an American couple and the death of the wife who was shot dead when armed men entered their home.

According to court documents unsealed on Tuesday, after breaking into Jean Franklin and Marie Odette Franklin's Haiti residence in October 2022, Innocent's co-conspirators kidnapped Jean Franklin and demanded a ransom of as much as $150,000 for his release.

(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Sarah Morland; Editing by Anthony Esposito)