425-pound gang member accused of trying to kidnap 10-year-old
Santa Ana police say they've arrested a 425-pound gang member who allegedly tried to kidnap a 10-year-old boy who was on his way to soccer practice.
55-year-old Victor Joseph Espinoza allegedly approached the boy as he and his 19-year-old female cousin were walking to the park.
Cpl. Anthony Bertagna says Espinoza allegedly lured the boy close enough to grab him by both of his arms and pull him into his body.
After a struggle, the boy and his cousin were able to run and alert his soccer coach, who tried to tackle and detain Espinoza, but the suspect escaped.
A helicopter was used to later find him hiding in a nearby home's backyard.
Espinoza was held on suspicion of false imprisonment, child annoyance and other charges
24 comments:
My daughter is 14 and has studied karate, but this is a reminder of why I have never let her out of my sight.
Vita I believe suggested we teach our children to scream, kick, and fight as loudly and as much as possible. I agree. Jane Velez suggests chipping. She said we can track a stolen vehicle via GPS, an IPhone, or even a lost pet, but it takes days or longer to find a missing child. She said the technology is available so why aren't we using it.
No, no, no.
I would not microchip my child.
Talk about invasion of privacy.
The potential for abuse is staggering.
I will keep watch myself, that´s my job as a parent.
For a couple of personal (what I think are good) reasons, I don't have an ounce of respect for a thing JVM says, and definitely would I not subscribe to anything she says just because SHE said it. While she is attractive and usually speaks fluently, she TOTALLY turns my stomach.
But Anon @ 7:17, I'd like to know what are the reasons you would not microchip your child? Would the invasion of privacy outweigh your child's possible safety or life, and HOW would it have such a detrimental affect on their privacy? Please explain in detail if you can. I'd appreciate it. To me, it sounds like a good idea; or at least, what harm could it do, or at the very least, might save your child's life. Is our dog or cat's privacy less important to us than our children' privacy? (You realize, you don't have to take the mark of the beast (666) to microchip your children?)
As a comparison, why don't we have seatbelts on school buses? Wouldn't the advantages and safety of the children far outweigh the possiblity of the children being trappped on the bus? In that case, then why do any of us have mandatory seatbelt laws since any of us could become trapped? It seems to me that the seatbelts would also help to keep unruly kids in their seats which is also a safety concern when children are wandering about and picking fights all over the bus; also the likely possibility that unbelted kids can be thrown around on the bus, injuring them even more, when an accident does occur. The point is, wouldn't the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
As far as a child being taught to scream, kick, fight, etc., this sounds good on the surface and has been known to work on some occasions, AND they should be taught this; but a child is not always able to scream, kick and fight, etc., particularly a small child or a teenager in someones firm grip, or one who has been taken by that "funny uncle" or neighbor that the child recognized and went willingly away with;
or one who walking or biking without an adult, or one who was playing alone in their yard and was abducted by someone who just happened to drive by, or one who strayed into the wrong neighbor's backyard hoping to play in his pool, but he takes her inside, rapes and kills her; or ANY child whose mouth is being covered by the perpetrator (s), while some are being restrained by more than one perpetrator.
NO CHILD has the ability either physically or mentally to exert enough strength and challenge to free themselves from an adult who has abducted and is restraining them, unless they are able to do it in broad daylight where there are others listening or watching who can help them break away. It is only occasionally that a perpetrator becomes frightened enough that they are going to be caught while the child is kicking and screaming that they will run away from the child.
It is the adult who holds the upper hand over the helpless child in all these circumstances. If it were that easy, most if not all these abducted children would be able to break away. The answer just very well might be that microchipping is the way to go? That, I cannot answer. Need more info.
There is a great potential for abuse and I don't trust the corporate state.
What do you mean by " You do realize that you don´t have to take the mark of the beast (666) to microchip your child?"
Microchipping children would fit in too well with the plans of the New World Order.
I am happy and honored to care for my children and watch over them and would not implant a foreign object in their bodies.
Just like criminals are slowly learning to get rid or the cell-phone or at least take the chip out, they will learn to cut the chip out of a child. That is not fool-proof. And I am with anon 9:03, I take responsiblility for my own children.
Sorry, I meant anan 9:14
PLEASE, PLEASE, parents, get hold of this video: http://www.cyberkids.com/cy/vi/sp/html/keyeye.html
Keyeye: Making Children Safe. It is the best way I ever found of educating my children about abduction danger and how to make them alert to it. Our library has a copy and I checked it out at least once a year to watch WITH my kids and discuss it. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Please help find Ayla
But Anon @ 7:17, I'd like to know what are the reasons you would not microchip your child?
What device are you talking about? Is there a GPS microchip for humans? The Sharper Image had a GPS dog collar; it looked too bulky to inject under the skin.
If for no other reason besides an invasion of privacy I would not condone microchipping because I think it would lead some into a false sense of safety. Right now lazy, negligent parents use excuses to justify themselves, microchipping their kids would be another way they could duck their sorry parenting.
off topic
DALLAS – A Dallas woman who beat her 2-year-old daughter and glued the toddler's hands to a wall was sentenced Friday to 99 years in prison.
Elizabeth Escalona faced from probation to life in prison, and prosecutors had sought 45 years behind bars.
Family members in the courtroom sobbed loudly as the judge announced the 23-year-old mother's punishment. Escalona pleaded guilty in July to felony injury to a child, but her mother and sister had pleaded for leniency on her behalf.
State District Judge Larry Mitchell said she "savagely beat" her child and deserved to be punished.
Escalona's other children told authorities that their mother attacked Jocelyn Cedillo in September 2011 due to potty training problems. Police say she kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive commonly known as Super Glue.
Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, a fractured rib, multiple bruises and bite marks, and was in a coma for a couple of days, a doctor testified at the sentencing hearing. Some skin had been torn off her hands, where doctors also found glue residue and white paint chips from the apartment wall.
Prosecutors portrayed Escalona as an unfit mother with a history of violence. They played recordings in which Escalona as a teenager threatened to kill her mother. They said she was a former gang member who started smoking marijuana at age 11.
"Only a monster glues her daughter's hands to the wall," Dallas County prosecutor Eren Price said during the hearing.
Escalona asked for leniency, telling the judge she was no longer the monster who committed the attack. "I will never forgive myself for what I did to my own daughter," she said.
Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Abel Lopez, who interviewed Escalona after the attack, showed in court a bottle of glue taken out of the family's apartment, as well as a section of a wall with Jocelyn's little handprints.
Jocelyn has since recovered and is now being cared for by her grandmother, Ofelia Escalona, who is taking care of her daughter's four other children, including a baby born this year.
Escalona's family has acknowledged their dismay and anger following the attack, but her sister and her mother asked the judge for leniency.
A counselor, Melanie Davis, testified Wednesday that her sessions with Escalona indicated the young mother loved all five of her children and that she would benefit from more counseling. Davis said Escalona has set herself the short-term goal of finding a job and the long-term aim of getting her children back.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/12/mom-who-glued-toddler-hands-is-monster-dallas-woman-faces-life-sentence-for/?test=latestnews#ixzz296knyNHK
Finally a judge with some common sense. I wish we had this kind of sentening in the UK, Here she would have gotten maybe a couple of months at most.
V Currently we have 5 whole life termers appealing saying it is cruel and inhumane punishment and they should instead get a minimum term ( personally i would say ok minimum sentence to be served before parole is 150 years)
OT: D'Andre Lane (Detroit) found guilty of : Felony Murder & First Degree Child Abuse. Lane was charged and convicted of killing his still missing daughter, Bianca Jones, age 2. Courtney Roberts, Justin and Elisha Dipietro, take notice. YOU will be next.
Hobs,
99 years!?! Whoa, Dallas! Can we have all sex offenders and child abuses tried in Texas??
Re: microchip. Imagine the information of where our children are in the wrong hands. Yes, that means someone in government or a neighbor. NO. WAY.
While I agree the judgement allows her children to grow up w/o her and hopefully prevents her from having any more kids the judge mentioned that he believes Elizabeth was herself abused as a child. Do we know that the grandma raising all five kids is totally innocent of ever abusing Elizabeth and that includes standing by while she was beat by father/boyfriend/whoever?
off topic
D’Andre Lane murdered his 2-year-old daughter, a jury decided this afternoon.
Lane, 32, was also convicted of abusing Bianca Jones, who has not been found since her Dec. 2 disappearance.
Lane is to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 16. He faces live in prison without on the murder charge.
Defense lawyer Terry Johnson said he plans to appeal the verdict, rendered before Third District Court judge Vonda Evans.
"He was as surprised as we were by the verdict, based upon what we believe is a lack of evidence."
During the trial, Johnson pointed to witnesses who said they saw Bianca alive the next morning and said abductors took her after the carjacking.
But prosecutors described Lane as a manipulative child abuser who killed Bianca while disciplining her with a stick the night before her disappearance. They said he wrapped her lifeless body in a blanket, strapped her in her car seat the next morning then dumped her.
Lane called 911 to report that two men had carjacked his vehicle at gunpoint at 9:45 a.m. Dec. 2 near Grand Boulevard and Brush. He said they drove away with his daughter in the back seat.
His car was found a few blocks away, with the engine running and the doors open.
Detroit police said more than 1,100 people turned out for the official volunteer search, which began Dec. 5, three days after the girl’s father reported her missing.
"We did the best we could," Assistant Prosecutor Carin Goldfarb said after the verdict. "But we can’t bring back Bianca. That’s the sad part about this."
Evans spoke to jurors for about 30 minutes after they rendered the verdict. The group came into the courtroom, with one woman wiping tears from her eyes. Jurors told Evans they did not want to speak publicly.
Bianca’s mother, Banika Jones, was not seen at the sentencing. At her home on Custer in Detroit, a Crimestoppers poster featuring a picture of Bianca and offering $22,500 for information her disappearance still hangs in the front window. No one answered the door this afternoon.
I was referring to a verichip-type devise.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98077&page=1#.UHhs42hYk1M
I agree with those who worry that the info would end up in the wrong hands.
I would micro-chip my child in a heart beat if it was avaiable in America.... and I know you can go down to Mexico to have it done and I have looked into it... I will be honest, my son starts school in a year and while we plan to walk him to and from school, we can not be with him 24/7.
Here is my thing, we can all be the best parents, but there could be that one moment you are not with your child that they are taken.
I have a close friend. Let me tell you her story.
She was 16 at the time, leaving tennis practice at her high school. Full day light, lots of people around.... She was putting her stuff in her trunk, a car with 3 men pulled up and asked if she needed a ride. She said no, I have my car right here...... and quickly closed the trunk and headed to her car door.
But before she could unlock the door, one of them grabbed her and had her in their truck and they were gone.
For 3 days she was held. Raped, burned (her legs are horribly scared to this day) her and beat her. They then told her they were done with her and were taking her to Mexico to sell her. She was laying down in the back seat alone with 2 of the men in front. She kept trying to peek out and see who/what was around. She saw a cop and started to rub her blood on the window. If there had not been a cop at that time, she may never have returned home. That cop saw and chased the car for miles before the car wrecked. She walked away, one of the men died and the other is in prison to this day.
So to you parents that say you watch your children... What did her parents do wrong? She was at her school. Her friends were near by and in fact watched in horror as she dragged screaming into their car.
So i feel like this is something that you cant argue or deny while your child is home safe and sound.....
But that moment when you realize your child has been kidnapped or didnt ever come home...
I guarantee you... AT THAT MOMENT WITH OUT A DOUBT AT ALL....you would wish you had that chip. If that was the only way you would ever see your child again alive. YOU WOULD WISH YOU HAD IT. I will not listen to anyone deny that UNLESS their child is missing and they still feel that way then fine. But until that moment your child is missing, you do not know how desperate you would truly feel to have any way to get them home safe.
And at this point, its so uncommon that no kidnapper would expect that. Especially in America.
My bosses sister lives in Mexico City. They have 2 children. While they have body guards being that its one of the highest kidnapping areas in the world, they also have them chipped. That is why I know you can get it done in Mexico.
Now, I have not personally seen the chips but she told me they are the hair line in the back of their neck and you can not see them.
So, anyone who feels like they would not want or get that chip in their child, tell me if you feel that way when your child does not come home... and the next day, and the next day and the next day.
I just do not believe that in the momeny of sheer terror and fear... you would not wish you could turn on the computer and have their exact location so the cops could bust in and bring them home safe.
I know I would and I really think that by the time my child starts school I will have that chip implanted. He can always remove it when he turns 18.
I would never implant a microchip into any of my children. It is an invasion of privacy and an intrusion into their bodies. How would you feel if your kid gets cancer and dies in his or her twenties due to this implant?
The reality is to be a parent you need to be mature and have perspective. You need to understand that it is impossible to protect a child against every possible risk and overkill in trying to do so is harmful to the child. Statistically the risks of a stranger kidnapping are miniscule. You'd be far better off putting your effort into safe driving and teaching your child street safety which is far more likely to result in injury or death to your child.
Wired did a really interesting piece on risks of being killed by a terrorist that is enlightening. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/09/71743 Drownings, poisonings, there are many risks much greater to a child than stranger abduction. And there's mounting evidence that overreactive parents have inadvertently raised children unable to manage risk. I don't write this to criticize your viewpoint, but you asked about people's feelings. This is not only how I feel, it is something that I have researched.
Here is more information on risk to children:
10,076 children died in 2009 (most recent stat available). Top cause = unintentional injury. Parents who want to prevent child deaths will pay attention to this highest risk. UI = 32.5 percent of 1-4 y.o. deaths and 29.6 percent for children 5-14.
The take-home message: if you are going to lose your child, the most likely cause is an accident. Many accidents can be prevented by locking up poisons and using safe practices in traffic, for example. You don't refuse to ever drive anywhere for fear of an auto accident- that is what microchipping is akin to doing.
Second most common cause of death for kids to age 4: congential anomalies, over 4 = cancer. http://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa11/hstat/hsc/pages/214cm.html
Stranger kidnapping and murder sounds terrifying (and is) but it is not a realistic risk anyone but a microscopic percentage of the population will ever face whereas car accidents and disease are much more prevalent and risky and in many case can be avoided without extreme measures.
Sorry, don't mean to keep going on but I just located an article that talks about why rare risks evoke strong (over)reactions in humans, which Wired summed up as "novelty plus dread equals overreaction." http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2007/05/securitymatters_0517
Anon @ 4:30 pm, 10/12, I appreciate your response, and am so sorry about what happened to your friend. Yes, a microchip could have found her BEFORE she was so brutally raped and mutilated. I am the Anon who wrote the post @ 9:03 am yesterday inquiring about the use of a microchip in one's child; and I have yet to read a sound and reasonable answer from anyone that makes sense, or even shows compassion for their child, other than yours.
Not a single one gives a valid reason why not. One responded asking what is the mark of the beast (666) although it is mentioned in the Bible repeatedly (guess she doesn't have one or ever heard or read one), yet she refers to the New World Order (also in the Bible), claiming to know about that, yet it is defined in the Bible as the prelude to the mark of the beast and the coming of Christ. Good heaven's woman, Google it! You can type ANY question into Google and get an answer.
I read from several that they would look after their child themselves. Yeah right. Every second of every minute of every day and night, 24/7/365. You just do that when your child is in the hands of an insane rapist/killer and you WEREN'T there. You're there, right?
I read that they would never implant a foreign object into their child and how dangerous this is. Is that so? Good lord, there are hundreds of thousands, millions, of people on this earth who have implants of one kind or another and are perking along just fine.
Surgical brain implants and screws, dental and breast implants, hip joint and knee cap replacements, metal rods and screws placed in the disc of ones back to hold them together and prevent collapse, and many more too numerous to mention. My own brother, aged 70, has a long metal plate in his right leg that was implanted when he was four years old after being struck by an automobile, and today and for all these years, he walks just fine. But these people would never allow an implant. Spare me the nonsense.
It's okay to invade the privacy of their pet with a microchip so it can be found, but not their child. What, do they think their mental telepathy will save or find their child FOR them, or that the statistics are so low that their child could ever be snatched that they would not risk this so-called "invasion of privacy"? Invasion from W.H.A.T?! I have never heard anything so ridiculous. I'd be damned glad to have my child's invasion of privacy invaded should she go missing! For once, JVM makes sense without sounding brain dead.
For Pete's sakes, the chip can always be removed if one is so unhappy about this precious invasion of privacy risk factor, but AT LEAST give your child a chance to be found should they ever find themselves at the mercy of an insane child rapist or killer. In fact, I'd be in favor of having TWO microchips implanted in my child, one that is well concealed from the adbuctor who might believe he got it when he found and destroyed the first one. You're danged right I'm interested in having this done for the sake of my CHILD's life, not my own ridiculous and unsubstainuated fears that do nothing to protect her.
These people remind of the the old days when the hand-held hair dryer first hit the market. They were honest to God afraid it would electrocute them!
Anon at 4:30 pm yesterday, please read above my response to your post made at 6:03 am, although it was really made at 9:03 am, my time. I am three hours ahead of the timing on this site.
I am stating my own opinion and I hope all (or you) can shed some scientific/medical research, biblical knowledge, or logical explanations on the matter if they have any.
Thank you!
To Anon @ 9:04 a.m. yesterday, to enlighten you a little as it concerns the mark of the beast, 666, (otherwise read the Bible or Google your questions, as this is not the time or place to give you a Bible training course);
To sum it up: The mark of the beast (666) is a number that will be implanted in everyones forehead or hand so they may be able to buy food as it is passed over a magnetic computer chip, all tied directly into your bank account and charge cards, government subsidy programs, whatever means of accessing money that you have. It is correlated with the New World Order (both spoken of indepth in the Bible) where all will be required to take the number if they want to eat, buy or sell. Sounds simple and good, huh? Not so.
The number 666 is the number of the name OF a man who comes to us peacefully, promising to bring us peace and a time of great progress. It is NOT the name OF the man, it is the NUMBER of the name of a LEADER of a country,or TITLE of that man. For example; the number of the name of a 'leader of the united states' is 666, clearly delineated: LEADER UNITED STATES. Count them. Each word contains six letters. There could be others. Once I was counting them all up but so far only came up with Leader United States that contains six letters in each word, or title. Use your own judgment.
It will become a time of great terror on this earth. The best bet for those of us who want to make it out of here, is just don't take any marks or numbers in your forehead or hand. There will be some of us who, having prior knowledge and being warned, will refuse and not take the number. I guess we will just starve then. No, this is not some idle hocus pocus. This is straight from the mouth of God and HIS Word. Enough said?
I wouldn't implant a chip into my child. I don't allow unnecessary invasive procedures to be performed on them, and a microchip implant is both unnecessary and invasive. My dog has a microchip because *he's a dog.* He's not a human with a right to privacy, which my children will have once they are older.
I am puzzled by those who post that an 8- or 10 year old should not be allowed to be outside alone. What an awful childhood, to have no freedom to explore outdoors. I fight back fear to allow my older children some freedom around our neighborhood. I think it's important to do so. If one of them is abducted I will never forgive myself. However, if that they grow up and have been within arm's reach of me up through-- what, age 16? -- I fear for their futures! They will be steeped in fear their entire lives. Weighing the risks and probability of each scenario, I think it's best for me to fight back my fear and allow them some limited freedom.
Also, the idea that one's parenting philosophy should include, "Trust no one, including your child's father" is terribly sad. It is one thing to pay close attention to your children, it's quite another to decide that you'll regard even their father with suspicion, as a rule. They will absolutely pick up on that, too.
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