A California couple was sentenced to prison this week for the infamous kidnapping of a three-month-old newborn, according to authorities.
In April of last year, the accused, Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez, 44, and Jose Roman Portillo, 29, reportedly kidnapped the newborn known as Baby Brandon. The infant was abducted from his family’s home in San Jose and recovered the next day.
California Couple Accepts Sentence
Ramirez was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months in jail on Monday, while Portillo was sentenced to 5 years, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office in Santa Clara County.
The couple admitted guilt in August 2022 to eight offenses related to the abduction, including kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, conspiracy, burglary, and car tampering, according to the prosecutor’s office. For these offenses, the maximum possible punishment was 16 years and four months.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement, “While we had advocated for the maximum punishment for both criminals, we are pleased that this brings an end to this tragic and terrible narrative.” “Brandon is safe, and his two kidnappers are incarcerated.”
Authorities reported that a police investigation into the kidnapping revealed that Ramirez and Portillo had attempted to kidnap Brandon at least four times prior to the actual abduction, including one instance in which Portillo posed as a Child Protective Services worker intending to take custody of the infant.
Brandon was abducted from his grandmother’s care by a guy carrying a car seat, according to the district attorney’s office’s Monday statement. Officials assert that the unknown individual was Portillo.
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Suspects Abduct Baby
He was in league with the grandmother’s friend, Ramirez, who was assisting Brandon’s grandmother that day in caring for the infant. Less than 18 hours later, the kidnapped newborn was recovered, and the two perpetrators were soon captured.
During the police inquiry, Ramirez informed her boyfriend that she was pregnant with his kid, according to information gathered by the district attorney’s office.
According to police, Ramirez began to organize Brandon Doe’s abduction when she claimed in talks with him that she had given birth in early March 2022.
The boyfriend allegedly inquired about the kidnapped child on April 23, 2022, just two days after moving into Ramirez’s house, according to the district attorney.
The city of San Francisco stated that testimony presented in court last summer suggested Ramirez sought to convince a love partner that Brandon was her biological child. According to the prosecution, Portillo was smitten with Ramirez and a co-conspirator in her abduction.
Further evidence suggested that Ramirez and Portillo intended to kidnap Brandon on March 28 and April 25 at a local Walmart, according to San Francisco. Both of these attempts were unsuccessful.
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