The 2 individuals accused of kidnapping a 3-month-old San Jose child tried to grab the toddler at the very least three different instances — as soon as going as far as to pose as a social employee and demand the child’s mother and father give him up, prosecutors alleged Thursday.
Yesenia Ramirez, 43, and Jose Portillo, 28, additionally tried taking the child twice throughout journeys to Walmart by both distracting the boy’s grandmother or making an attempt to exchange her procuring cart with the child in a service with one other cart with an empty service, in accordance with newly-filed court docket paperwork.
The revelations got here as Santa Clara County prosecutors filed three new felony prices of tried kidnapping in opposition to Ramirez and Portillo, who're accused of lastly taking the kid on April 25 from his grandmother’s San Jose house in a kidnapping that drew nationwide consideration. Ramirez was a good friend of the household, authorities say.
The 20-hour ordeal ended a day laterwhen authorities discovered the child protected in Portillo’s house, which had been stocked with diapers, child formulation and a child service, in accordance with court docket paperwork.
“It’s completely surprising,” mentioned Rebekah Smart, the deputy district legal professional prosecuting the case, of the brand new allegations. “It’s each dad or mum’s worst nightmare.”
Nonetheless, questions remained Thursday in regards to the motive for the alleged kidnapping plots, which date again as early as March 5, prosecutors alleged.
The 2 seem to have “cased” the kid’s San Jose residence and exchanged photos of each its exterior and inside structure in early March earlier than selecting their first plan to pose as a social employee and demand the mother and father quit their little one, newly-filed court docket paperwork mentioned. On March 14, the 2 texted a few “script” that Portillo would use to say he was a Little one Protecting Companies employee who wanted to take the child from the house as a result of he wasn’t being parented safely.
The ruse crumbled when the household referred to as Little one Protecting Companies, which responded that they hadn’t set anybody over to take the child, prosecutors mentioned. Portillo left after they refused handy over the kid.
Prosecutors used cellphone data to tie Portillo to the kid’s residence throughout the alleged go to, court docket paperwork present. Ramirez was on the child’s residence along with his household your entire time, the paperwork mentioned.
Prosecutors suspect Portillo and Ramirez tried as soon as once more to take the child on March 28 — this time, whereas the toddler’s household introduced him on an errand to Walmart. The 2 texted a few plan for Portillo to enter the Walmart on Story Street with an empty child service in a procuring cart and swap carts with the child’s grandmother so they might take the kid, prosecutors alleged. In the meantime, Ramirez deliberate to accompany the grandmother on her procuring journey.
Prosecutors say the 2 — who had been noticed on surveillance digicam within the retailer — deserted their plan after realizing that they couldn’t make the swap with out being seen, court docket paperwork mentioned.
Ramirez and Portillo tried a last time the morning of April 25, whereas the child’s grandmother took the toddler on one other errand to Walmart, in accordance with court docket paperwork. The pair texted directions to one another all through the go to, prosecutors alleged, however deserted that plan when Ramirez couldn’t distract the boy’s grandmother lengthy sufficient for Portillo to take the kid, court docket paperwork mentioned.
Lower than two hours later, San Jose police say Portillo succeeded in taking the child, resulting in a frantic 20-hour seek for him.
The pair stay in jail with out bail on previously-filed prices of conspiracy to commit a felony, kidnapping a toddler beneath the age of 14 and first-degree housebreaking, all felonies.
Standing exterior the Santa Clara County Corridor of Justice, Ramirez’s legal professional, Cody Salfen, mentioned his consumer is “terrified” about being held in jail. He defended her in opposition to prosecutors’ allegations, which he referred to as “a primary for her.”
“There’s a distinction between allegations and information,” Salfen mentioned.
Salfen has additionally attributed the stockpiled child provides to the truth that his consumer and the child’s household had a “very shut relationship,” and that Ramirez was a “caretaker” for the kid who had “the total blessing and welcome” of his household.
Questions lingered Thursday about Ramirez’ connection to a tiny San Jose church, the place a 3-year-old lady died final fall in a ceremony that its pastor claims was meant to “liberate her of her evil spirits.” Church members have mentioned Ramirez had attended companies there.
The lady, Arely Naomi Proctor, died in September by asphyxiation, and her loss of life has been dominated a murder by the Santa Clara County coroner’s workplace. Her mom, Claudia Hernandez has been arrested and charged with assault on a toddler leading to loss of life in reference to the lethal exorcism. She stays in jail and is being held with out bail.
Through the hunt for the child, San Jose police searched the nondescript home the place the church holds companies on the 1000 block of South 2nd Avenue, the property’s landlord mentioned.
Whereas acknowledging that the exorcism occurred on the church, leaders of Iglesia Apostoles y Profetas’s congregation additionally confirmed that at the very least one of many kidnapping suspects, Ramirez, attended companies there, together with the toddler’s mom and grandmother.