2 charged in fake child abduction plead not guilty

PORT ANGELES, Wash. - Two people accused in a staged kidnapping that alarmed people at a Sequim, Wash. park pleaded not guilty Thursday to disorderly conduct charges.

Jason Holden and a relative, Shellie Baskins, were arraigned in Clallam County District Court in Port Angeles. A third person, Jesse Holden, was scheduled to be arraigned, but the hearing was postponed until next Thursday to allow him time to find another lawyer.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the three could face nearly a year in jail or a $5,000 fine if convicted.

The Holdens, wearing ski masks, pulled up to Carrie Blake Park in a minivan on April 13. One of the men jumped out, grabbed Baskins' 4-year-old son in a pre-planned "abduction" - and took off.

Unbeknownst to bystanders at the time, one of the masked men was the toddler's father, the toddler's mother, Baskins, was in on it, too. The men later returned and explained the incident was recorded to create a video for social media on child abduction prevention and awareness. Still, parents and other witnesses were outraged. Some had called police.

"Somebody just pulled up in a van and stole a kid off a bench and drove off. It was a Dodge Caravan. It was silver. God, I'm like shaking right now. Oh my God," one woman said in a 911 call.

The Holdens reportedly have a YouTube channel on which they post videos of themselves performing pranks.

Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson told CBS News' Crimesider in the days after the incident that the Holdens called 911 to tell authorities what they were planning just 3 to 4 minutes before they put their plan into effect, butthat it was in no way approved.