LOS ANGELES—A former Azusa resident is expected to be sentenced Dec. 21 for participating in the kidnapping of a Southern California luxury car dealer who was held for $2 million ransom, beaten, killed, and buried in the Mojave desert. Alexis Romero-Velez, 26, pleaded guilty last year to a federal kidnapping conspiracy charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Romero-Velez admitted driving a minivan used in the kidnapping, which prosecutors allege was orchestrated by two Chinese nationals, Guangyao Yang and Peicheng Shen. In October, Anthony Valladares, 29, of Pasadena, was sentenced to more than 16 years behind bars for his role in the four-person scheme in which Tony Liao was grabbed from the San Gabriel Square shopping plaza on July 16, 2018. Valladares—who also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap—was used as the “muscle” in the operation. After 28-year-old Liao was abducted, his parents in China received ransom demands suggesting he …