3 people charged with kidnapping baby while grandmother unloaded groceries from car outside
San Jose police said Wednesday that they have charged three people with kidnapping a three-month-old baby who was taken from an apartment Monday afternoon while his grandmother was unloading groceries from a car outside. The baby was found alive and unharmed Tuesday.
Jose Roman Portillo, Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez and Baldomeo Sandoval have all been arrested and charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, child abduction and home invasion, San Jose police said Wednesday. San Jose Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Christian Camarillo said those charges may change as the department learns more about what transpired.
The infant, Brandon Alexis Cuellar, was taken to the hospital as a "precaution" on Tuesday after a more than 20 hour-long search, police said.
Cuellar was found just a day after he was reported missing. San Jose police said Monday that he was being watched by his grandmother while his mother was at work, CBS San Francisco reports. The grandmother had taken the baby into the apartment when she got back from shopping for groceries. She went back to her car to retrieve more groceries but when she went back inside, Cuellar was gone.
San Jose police tweeted out images and video of a male suspect seen entering the residence and leaving with the baby in what appeared to be a carrier covered with a blanket. Camarillo said earlier this week that the male suspect, who has since been identified as Portillo, brought a baby carrier to the apartment, suggesting the kidnapping was planned.
Camarillo said Wednesday that Ramirez was a "family friend" of the grandmother and had been with her at the time of the kidnapping. He said detectives believe she was in contact with Portillo when the abduction occurred. Her arrest came after Camarillo said Tuesday that "inconsistencies" in what she told police drew "significant suspicion."
Camarillo said Sandoval played "some role" in the kidnapping, but did not elaborate. The motive for the kidnapping remains under investigation.
Early Monday evening, the neighborhood where the abduction happened was swarming with San Jose police units. Police said Monday that his mother was at their headquarters providing information on the case. The baby's father is currently incarcerated.
"Right now, we have every available resource not only out in the field, but here at the police department working this case," Camarillo said Monday.
Authorities were asking for anyone who lives in the area to check their surveillance cameras for video from around 1 p.m. that might have captured the suspect.
Police also noted that no Amber Alert had been issued in the case because authorities didn't have a vehicle description or license plate number to include with the alert.
