Category Archives: kidnap

UPDATED – IN CUSTODY: Woman accused of abducting 3-year-old son from Arcadia shopping mall

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ARCADIA >> Police arrested the mother of a 3-year-old boy Sunday after the woman, who does not have custody of her son, allegedly abducted him from an Arcadia shopping mall.
Levi Barrios and his mother Melissa Barrios, 25, disappeared about 8:35 p.m. Saturday from the Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall, 400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia police Lt. Vaughn Whalen said in a written statement.
The boy’s great-aunt called police and reported Melissa Barrios, who is only authorized for visitation with her son, had absconded with him, Whalen said. The two were last seen at a bus stop at the mall.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies found the mother and child at union station in Los Angeles about 2:20 a.m., police said.
The boy was unharmed and Melissa Barrios was jailed on suspicion of kidnapping.
She was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail pending her initial court appearance.
PHOTO of Melissa Barrios courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department

 

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Man accused of kidnapping 4-year-old son during supervised visit in Santa Fe Springs

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SANTA FE SPRINGS >> A man abducted his 4-year-old son during a supervised visit at a Santa Fe Springs social services office Thursday before police arrested him and recovered the boy about two hours later, officials said.
Francisco Rosas Espinoza, 42, is a Mexican national in the U.S. on a two-week visa to visit his son, Whittier police Officer John Scoggins.
He was visiting his son about 2 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services office in the 10300 block of Slusher Street when he left with his son, the officer said.
“We had officers and detectives scouring the area,” Scoggins said. A California Highway Patrol helicopter also joined in the search.
Officials spotted Espinoza and his son about 4:30 p.m. in the area of Pioneer Boulevard and Hamden Place, police said. He was trying to hide.
“There was a short standoff. He was holding on to the victim, refusing to let him go,” Scoggins said. “There was a brief struggle.”
Officers managed to wrestle the boy away from Espinoza and take the father into custody, he said. An officer was treated for a minor injury suffered in the confrontation, but neither the boy nor his father were hurt.
Espinoza was booked on suspicion of child abduction, child endangerment and resisting arrest, Scoggins said.
The boy was returned to the custody of DCFS.

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Suspect sketch released following attempted kidnapping in Santa Fe Springs

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0730_NWS_NWS-L-WHITSKETCH1SANTA FE SPRINGS >> Police have released a composite sketch of a man who exposed himself to a woman and tried to kidnap her as she walked along Pioneer Boulevard earlier this month.
The victim, a 57-year-old Downey woman, escaped with only minor abrasions following the failed abduction, which took place about 7:45 a.m. July 5 in an alley along Pioneer Boulevard, just north of Houghton Avenue, according to Whittier police Lt. Kent Miller.
The woman was walking when the suspect called out to the woman from a black SUV, Miller said.
“He asked her to come over to his truck, when he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and tried pulling her toward his driver’s side door,” police said in a written statement. “The male suspect made several lewd comments and exposed himself.”
The woman managed to pull free and run away. The attacker was last seen driving north on Pioneer Boulevard.
Police described the man as Latino, 30 to 35 years old,of medium build, clean-shaven, with short black hair combed backward.
ANyone with information is asked to contact Whittier police Detective Kremling at 562-409-1850.

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Three additional suspects charged with 2002 kidnapping, slaying of Montebello teen

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MONTEBELLO >> Prosecutors have charged three additional suspects in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old Montebello girl on her way to school more than 12 years ago.
The three men join a woman who is already awaiting trial on charges related to the Oct., 2002, slaying of Brenda Sierra, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement.
Eddie Chavira, 20, Daniel Cervantes, 35 and George Barraza, 35, were added to a felony complaint alleging murder and other charges already filed against Rosemary Chavira, 28, district attorney’s office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Rosemary Chavira, Cervantes and Barraza are each charged with murder, conspiracy to dissuade a witness and forcible rape, along with the special circumstance of murder during the commission of a kidnapping to benefit a street gang, court documents show.
Eddie Chavira faces charges of murder and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.
Sierra was on her way to Schurr High School in Montbello when she was kidnapped on Oct. 18, 2002.
“She was raped and killed,” according to the district attorney’s office statement. “Her body was found the following day in the Crestline area of the San Bernardino Mountains. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
Sierra had no gang ties, investigators said. But she may have been killed so send a message to the community to keep quiet about gang violence.
In the days before Sierra’s kidnapping and slaying, “Eddie Chavira was in custody for a shooting witnessed by victim Brenda Sierra’s relative,” the district attorney’s office statement said. “Chavira told a fellow Lott gang member that he was going to have other Lott gang members take care of a witness. About the same time, he contacted his (then-)15-year-old sister, Rosemary Chavira, to assist in getting other gang members to take care of witnesses.”
Eddie Chavira and Daniel Cervantes are each serving prison time for previous convictions, authorities said. Investigators arrested Rosemary Chavira in February. Barraza remains a fugitive.
Rosemary Chavira has pleaded not guilty to her charges and is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
Arraignment dates were yet to be scheduled for Eddie Chavira and Cervantes.
Because Rosemary Chavira was herself a teen at the time of the killing, she faces a maximum penally of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charges, prosecutors said. Eddie Chavira faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
Cervantes and Barraza’s alleged crimes make them eligible for the death penalty under California law, however authorities have not yet determined whether to seek capital punishment in the case.

PHOTO of Brenda Sierra – courtesy

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Pasadena woman fights her way free of would-be kidnapper

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PASADENA >> A Pasadena woman fought her way free from a would-be kidnapper who forced her into his SUV late Friday, police said.
A Pasadena woman in her early-20s was walking home about 10 p.m. along Marengo Avenue, near Penn Street, when the man drove up alongside her, Pasadena police Lt. Jesse Carrillo said.
The man tried to start a conversation with the woman, but she ignored him and continued walking, Carrillo said. The suspect stopped his SUV next to the woman and got out.
“He approached her and physically forced her into the front passenger seat,” police said in a written statement. The suspect then got back into the driver seat of the vehicle.
“In her efforts to escape, the victim struck the suspect once in the face and once in the groin area and managed to exit the vehicle,” according to the police statement. “The suspect then drove away north and out of sight.”
The woman suffered what appeared to be only scratches in the incident, Carrillo said.
Police described the suspect as a black man in his late-30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 200 pounds. He was bald, of medium complexion, clean-shaven and wore a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans. He drove a newer-model, gray SUV, similar to a Honda CRV.
Investigators were not aware of any similar incident reported in the area recently, Carrillo said.
Police hoped to develop a suspect sketch as they continued their investigation Saturday, he added.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Pasadena Police Department at 626-744-4241.

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