Suspect Arrested In Last Week's Kidnapping Of Soledad Toddler
SOLEDAD (CBS SF) – Police in Soledad on Monday afternoon arrested a suspect in last week's kidnapping of a small boy after receiving a tip, according to authorities.
An Amber Alert was issued shortly before 7 a.m. on Thursday after 2-year-old Jacob Jesus Vargas was kidnapped from in front of his parents' home when their idling car was stolen from their driveway on the 100 block of Head Street.
The family immediately reported the theft and kidnapping. The stolen car was located hours later with the boy found safe when the stolen car was found hidden inside a barn on River Road south of Salinas.
He was reunited with his family after being examined by doctors.
According to Soledad police, officers on Monday received a tip regard the location of the suspect, 27-year-old Carmen Rogelio Maldonado, at a remote farmhouse also located on River Road.
Police along with agents from the FBI and officers from both the Monterey County District Attorney's Office and Gonzales Police Department responded to the area and surrounded the home, calling for Maldonado to surrender. He complied after several minutes.
Maldonado was safely taken into custody and transported to the Soledad Police Department. He is being interviewed and booked into the Monterey County Jail on charges of kidnapping and auto theft as well as a charge of attempted murder.
Authorities did not offer any information regarding the attempted murder charge and whether it was connected to the kidnapping incident.