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Vallejo Kidnapping Victim Denise Huskins Aims to Amend State Law Exposing Victims’ Privacy

Leanne Maxwell — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:00:00 GMT

Denise Huskins, the Vallejo woman whose 2015 kidnapping and sexual assault case was featured in Netflix’s American Nightmare, is pushing for changes to state law after learning her assailant was given access to explicit evidence from her case during his trial.

As CBS Sacramento’s Julie Watts reports, Denise Huskins and her husband, Aaron Quinn, are preparing to testify in support of a victims’ privacy bill aimed at closing gaps in California law that allow defendants in crimes involving adult victims to obtain and retain sensitive case materials. Years after her attacker’s conviction, Huskins discovered that his then-wife still had copies of that evidence in her home.

The case stems from an infamous March 2015 home invasion in Vallejo where Matthew Muller blindfolded and drugged the couple before kidnapping Huskins, sexually assaulting her, and holding her for ransom in South Lake Tahoe for two days before releasing her near her father's home in Southern California.

At the time, law enforcement publicly accused Huskins of staging the kidnapping, a claim later disproven after Muller was arrested in a separate case and pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting her. The case became more nationally well known following the 2024 Netflix docu-series American Nightmare.

Over the past year, Huskins and Quinn have been working with investigators to help reopen cold cases tied to Matthew Muller, as SFist reported last year, efforts that led to new confessions and revelations about how evidence in her case was handled.

As CBS reports, the couple learned that explicit recordings of the assaults — which investigators say Muller filmed — had been turned over to defense attorneys as part of the legal discovery process and not properly safeguarded.

According to investigators, Muller’s then-wife, who said she acted as his legal assistant while he represented himself for a time, retained copies of that material in her home for years after his conviction.

The handling of explicit evidence in her case is now driving reform efforts in Sacramento, as Huskins and Quinn prepare to testify in support of a new victims’ privacy bill, SB 1056 authored by Senator Tim Grayson, as CalMatters reports.

"Part of videoing it is his ability to continue to exploit and re-victimize me over and over again every time he viewed it," Huskins tells CBS. “To learn that there wasn't more care, more guidelines and restrictions, was just another insult to injury."

CBS reports that while California law requires courts to seal sexually explicit evidence involving minors, protections for adult victims are far less defined. There is reportedly no consistent system to track or verify compliance once a case concludes — even when protective orders are issued.

As a result, individual prosecutors or courts are responsible for processing and tracking explicit evidence involving adult victims, without uniform statewide standards.

"There isn't a law," Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Sonja Satchell told CBS. "We are governed by best practices… and those practices can vary from county to county. There is no uniformity."

Huskins and Quinn are now working with lawmakers to establish clearer statewide standards through the creation of SB 1056, as CBS reports. The bill would require courts to issue protective orders for sexually explicit evidence involving victims of any age and limit how that material is copied, shared, or accessed.

"If survivors don't feel like they're going to be safe and protected, they are not going to come forward," Huskins tells the station.

As CBS reports, the couple is scheduled to testify before the California State Senate Public Safety Committee in support of the bill on March 24.

"It's healing to know that we have a voice… and we can use it," she said.

Previously: Kidnapping and Assault Victim Denise Huskins Helped Law Enforcement Find More Victims of Matthew Muller

Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: (L-R) Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn attend the 2024 Critics Choice Real TV Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on June 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Body of Man Found In Lake Berryessa Suspected to Be Victim of Kidnapping

Joe Kukura — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 19:04:29 GMT

After 57-year-old Avtar Singh was reported missing in Tracy last Tuesday, authorities have confirmed that a body found in Lake Berryessa on Friday is his, and surveillance video indicates foul play by three suspected kidnappers.

There were definitely some loose ends in a Saturday report on KTVU about a 57-year-old man named Avtar Singh who was reported missing in Tracy this past Tuesday, and then a dead body being discovered in Lake Berryessa on Saturday. According to KTVU, both the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office (where Tracy is located) and the Napa County Sheriff's Office (home to Lake Berryessa) were at that time "investigating to see if there is a potential link" between Singh's disappearance, and the grisly discovery of a dead body.

And by Monday morning, KPIX was reporting that the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office has confirmed that the dead body is Singh's. And other surveillance evidence collected in the investigation indicates pretty strongly that Singh's death was foul play, and he was likely kidnapped on Tuesday.

KTVU notes there is some manner of surveillance video — and the source of this surveillance video is not mentioned — showing three individuals in a white SUV, all wearing dark clothing, forcing Singh into the SUV at about 2:30 pm on Tuesday. The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement last week that Singh "appears to have entered the vehicle against his will.

Then at 3:20 p.m. on Friday, Napa County Sheriff's Office deputies received a call about a dead body seen floating in Lake Berryessa. That sheriff's office quickly put out a statement saying that deputies "immediately noticed that the crime did not appear to have occurred in Napa County," indicating they already has a strong hunch that this was the missing man from Tracy.

Singh's cause of death has not yet been announced. Authorities have not made any arrests, nor have they announced any suspects. But both sheriff's departments insist this was an isolated incident, and there is no threat to the public in either of the two counties.

Image: Haha169 via Wikimedia Commons

Lafayette Man Convicted In 2022 Home Invasion Case With Potential Life Sentence

Leanne Maxwell — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:43:34 GMT

A Contra Costa County jury found Kenneth McIsaac guilty in the September 2022 home invasion of a Lafayette family who were held hostage for several hours before they escaped.

According to KTVU, 34-year-old Kenneth McIsaac of Lafayette was convicted and faces life in prison for the home invasion of his neighbors, a family of four, in September of 2022, whom he held hostage for several hours.

McIsaac gained access to the home when he followed the family through their front door as they were returning from the apartment complex pool. He then flashed a gun from under his shirt, which was later determined to be a replica, and said he was there to rob them. The family was bound with duct tape and held captive for five hours. The father eventually broke free and fought off McIsaac until the rest of the family could escape and call for help.

SFGate reports that McIsaac was admitted to a mental health facility in August 2023 and escaped that October before being arrested in November of that year.

McIsaac was convicted on charges that include kidnapping, child abuse, and robbery. His sentencing is scheduled for June 6 with a potential life sentence.

Image: Lafayette, California; Staceysb22/Wikimedia

Kidnapped at Age 6 in 1951, Man Finally Reunited With Oakland Family 73 Years Later

Joe Kukura — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 20:12:29 GMT

It's a stunning happy ending to a 73-year-old cold case, as a man who was kidnapped in Oakland when he was six years old was finally reunited with his family once he was 79 years old.

This story starts in heartbreaking fashion. Way back in 1951, six-year-old Puerto Rican emigrant Luis Armando Albino was kidnapped from Oakland’s Jefferson Square Park, with his abductor whisking him to the East Coast where he would be raised by another family. His brother Roger told authorities he was grabbed by a woman with a bandana, and Oakland police, the Coast Guard, and ultimately the FBI were brought in on the manhunt.

The youngster Albino would not be found. Meanwhile, he would lead his own life inadvertently estranged from his real family, joining the Marines and serving two tours of duty in Vietnam, becoming a firefighter, and eventually retiring. The whole time, he did not know that he had an original family looking for him, 3,000 miles away.

“All this time the family kept thinking of him,” his niece Alida Alequin told the Bay Area News Group. “I always knew I had an uncle. We spoke of him a lot. My grandmother carried the original article in her wallet, and she always talked about him. A picture of him was always hung at the family home.”

That grandmother passed away in 2005, never again seeing the son she lost in 1951. But the niece Alequin kept up the search, taking a 2020 DNA test that identified a man who was a 22% possibility of being her uncle. She did research on the man, and even brought in the FBI and state Department of Justice. Those two agencies reopened their cases, while Alequin did more research on this distant man who might be her uncle.

On June 20 of this year, federal investigators confirmed that the man was indeed her uncle Luis Armando Albino. “In my heart I knew it was him,” Alequin told the News Group. “And when I got the confirmation, I let out a big ‘YES!’ ”

Luis Albino was flown to Okaland four days later and reunited with his family. He got to meet his brother Roger who was with him that day at the park, visiting Roger at his home in Stanislaus County. CBS News reports that brother Roger died in August, but the two were at least reunited one final time, and Albino is now back in touch with his surviving family.

“I’m so happy that I was able to do this for my mom and (uncle). It was a very happy ending,” the niece Alequin explained to the News Group. “I was always determined to find him, and who knows, with my story out there, it could help other families going through the same thing. I would say, don’t give up.”

Image courtesy Alida Alequin

[Update] Police Find Missing Woman Who Was Victim of Suspected Kidnapping in San Jose

Holly Secon — Sat, 13 Jan 2024 22:43:46 GMT

San Jose police found Acela Pineda Silva, who went missing around 2 a.m. Saturday morning in San Jose.

She was reportedly inside a vehicle that stolen by a group of people near North Fifth and St. John streets in downtown San Jose. Police have since recovered the car, but Silva wasn't immediately found. Luckily, a good Samaritan recognized Silva from news alerts and brought her to the police station, as KNTV reported. She was apparently visibly shaken, but only suffered minor injuries.

Police later arrested one suspect on suspicion of kidnapping, per KNTV. Authorities said that it does not appear that Silva knew her alleged kidnapper. Police did not say where Silva was found.

Silva is described as a 5’9”, 31-year-old Hispanic woman, according to KTVU. She has long black hair, weighs approximately 150 lbs., and was last seen wearing a black sweater and black skirt.

As San Jose police said on social media, “one of the suspects and the victim are still unaccounted for.”

"The victim did not leave willingly," police added.

** Suspected Kidnapping**

At approximately 2 AM this morning, a kidnapping event occurred in the area of N 5th St and St John St. Several unknown suspects stole a vehicle where the victim was a passenger. The victim did not leave willingly. The vehicle has been located but one… pic.twitter.com/mnjXTxFbSY
— San José Police Media Relations (@SJPD_PIO) January 13, 2024

Authorities are asking for the public’s assistance to find Silva and to send in tips if they see her. They have not released descriptions of any suspects, and it’s unclear how many people were involved.

Image via Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons.

Man Speaks Out After Car Stolen With Daughter Still Inside In Friday Night Ingleside Theft

Joe Kukura — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 23:05:34 GMT

It’s bad enough to have your car stolen, but one man had the terrifying experience of his car being stolen with his daughter still inside Friday night in Ingleside, and he’s now talking to the press.

We reported over the weekend on the harrowing story of a car that was stolen with a child still inside in SF’s Ingleside neighborhood, and the vehicle theft occurred just before 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. Thankfully, the car was located four blocks away with the child still inside safe and sound, within about ten minutes of it being reported stolen.

But NBC Bay Area spoke to the father in a follow-up report this weekend. He declined to give his name, but he did speak on camera about his experience that nearly turned into a worst nightmare.

“Someone kidnapped your child, your brain and your mind goes crazy,” he told NBC Bay Area. “That’s what happened. I was going nuts. I’m so relieved. Thank god.”

“I pulled at the Good Guys market, not too far from here," he said, recalling the experience. "My daughter was sleeping. So, I just jumped out and I ran into the market to get something and before I could even purchase something, someone got in my car and took off in my truck with my daughter in it and it was like a kidnapping.”

He’s actually referring to Cool Guys Market which is on Holloway Avenue at Ashton Avenue. But in great work by SFPD, the car was then located just 11 minutes later at Capitol and Ocean avenues, outside a convenience store called Homerun Liquors.

“I’ve seen a guy drive kind of crazy. Like a wild left turn and he parked the car and started running,” Homerun Liquors owner Jamil Tawasha told NBC Bay Area. “I walked up, I’ve seen the car. I've seen a baby crying in there and two minutes after I seen that, a whole bunch of officers and a helicopter came.”

The child and the vehicle have been safely recovered, but the suspect is still at large. If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Image: Google Street View

South Bay Woman Rescued and Set to Return to California Eight Months After Abduction in Mexico

Holly Secon — Sun, 16 Jul 2023 19:57:26 GMT

San Mateo resident Monica De Leon Barba, who was kidnapped in Mexico eight months ago while she was out walking her dog, has been found safe and is coming home, the FBI said Saturday.

In a statement issued on Saturday, officials from San Francisco's FBI division confirmed that De Leon Barba, 29, is currently en route to the U.S. following her release by her unidentified captors.

The agonizing ordeal began on November 29, 2022, when De Leon Barba was last seen being forced into a van while walking home from work with her dog in Tepatitlán, a city about an hour northeast of Guadalajara, as KPIX reported. According to Hoodline, she had grown up and lived most of her life in California, before moving to Mexico to pursue job opportunities in photography.

Shortly after the kidnapping, the FBI launched an investigation into her disappearance. As SFGate reported, FBI agents determined that she was the subject of a “targeted kidnapping” who was abducted by at least 5 people. The FBI had released surveillance videos of the kidnapping and offered a $40,000 reward for information.

Robert K. Tripp, the special agent in charge of the case, said that he felt “relief and joy” at her return.

“The FBI investigation is far from over, but we can now work this case knowing an innocent victim is reunited with her family," Tripp stated. "On behalf of the FBI, I want to extend my sincere thanks to our law enforcement partners, to the family, and to the San Mateo community for their continued engagement and advocacy. They never forgot Monica, and neither did we."

No arrests of her captors have been made yet, but De Leon Barba’s family is grateful. Her older brother made a heartfelt post on Facebook on Saturday expressing his overwhelming excitement upon learning of Monica's return, according to the Chronicle.

"Hello everyone, for the first time in a very long time, we have good news! I need to thank every single person that helped my family and me through this entire ordeal. We can all finally close this chapter in our lives and work on the long road of healing we have ahead. Thank all of you so much," it read.

Feature image of Monica De Leon Barba via FBI.

Sentencing Delayed In Wacky San Jose Kidnapping Case as Suspect Now Claims Her Estranged Husband Made Her Do It

Jay Barmann — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 21:51:43 GMT

A San Jose woman whose apparent web of lies led her to mastermind a kidnapping last spring is now claiming innocence in the case, months after pleading no contest and waiving her right to a trial.

It stands to reason that this story couldn't wrap up too quickly or simply, given that it was a morass of chaotic thinking and deception to begin with. And now we have prime suspect in the Baby Brandon kidnapping case, Yesenia Guadalupe Ramirez, claiming innocence, or something, after prosecutors already presented a mountain of evidence that proves she is far from innocent.

Ramirez, 44, reportedly told probation officers that she only kidnapped the infant last April because her estranged husband "held a gun to her head." As KRON4 reports, prosecutors brought up this twist in her story ahead of the planned sentencing of Ramirez and co-conspirator Jose Roman Portillo, 28. Both pleaded no contest to the charges against them back in August after their arrests in April.

"Ms. Ramirez has continuously lied throughout this proceeding. First to police, and now to probation,” said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise speaking to the judge in the case Friday morning, per KRON4.

"This is not the time to raise an affirmative defense. Both defendants entered no contest pleas to every single charge," Wise said.

Ramirez's defense attorney, Cody Salfen, filed a motion to delay sentencing today, and that was granted. Per KRON4, Salfen said he trying to determine the relevance of hundreds of recorded jailhouse phone calls that prosecutors appear to be hoping to use in sentencing. Ramirez allegedly continued to proclaim innocence in these phone calls.

Investigators in the case quickly homed in on Ramirez and Portillo, who was one of two men Ramirez was apparently romantically involved with early last year. Ramirez's estranged husband was initially arrested alongside the pair, but he was soon released without charges, and all evidence pointed to Ramirez being the mastermind in the kidnapping with no help from her husband.

According to prosecutors, Ramirez came up with the plan to kidnap the three-month-old child of a friend, Baby Brandon Cuellar, after telling a series of lies in an attempt to baby-trap another boyfriend, Francisco Marquez. Ramirez had been seeing Marquez on and off for four years, and she allegedly had convinced him in previous years that he had fathered twins with her. According to Ramirez's tall tale, the twins were taken from her by child protective services in Mexico while she was in a coma from a car accident, and she couldn't get them back. She then told Marquez about this new baby and sent him photos, and when he then came to live with her on April 23, 2022, she became desperate to bring home a baby as proof of her story, telling him the baby was still at the hospital.

Brandon Cuellar was kidnapped on April 25 while in his grandmother's care — surveillance video showed Portillo walking off with him in a carrier while the grandmother was unloading groceries. Prosecutors said this was the fifth time that Ramirez and Portillo had attempted to snatch the child from his mother and grandmother, who attended the same church as Ramirez. (Incidentally, the leader of this same Pentecostal congregation based in a San Jose home has been implicated in the September 2021 death of his three-year-old granddaughter during an "exorcism.")

Portillo had previously tried posing as Child Protective Services and sought to take the child from his grandmother that way.

Sentencing for Ramirez and Portillo is now delayed until March 20. Ramirez is facing a likely 14-year sentence, while Portillo faces a maximum of five years.

Previously: San Jose Kidnapping Tale Grows Cray-Cray-Crazier As Investigators Detail Sordid Tale of Boyfriend-Trapping

Kidnapped Merced Family Found Dead, Including Eight-Month-Old Baby

Joe Kukura — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 18:26:05 GMT

A frantic search in Merced County has ended with a worst-case scenario, as the family of four that was kidnapped Monday morning was found dead late Wednesday afternoon, and with them the eight-month old child.

A Monday kidnapping case in a rural area of Merced County was unusual, as police quickly apprehended the suspect, but could not find the family of four that he had kidnapped. Complicating matters was the fact that the suspect, 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado, had attempted to take his own life before he was apprehended by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office, and was unable to communicate with law enforcement to provide any leads on the missing family’s whereabouts.

And an eight-month-old baby, Aroohi Dheri, was one of the missing family members. But at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, the Chronicle reports that the baby and the family were found dead in a field. The baby was with her parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh.

“Tonight our worst fears have been confirmed. We found the four people from the kidnapping, and they are, in fact, deceased,” Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke said at the Wednesday night press conference seen above. “There’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel, and the senselessness of this incident.”

Mourning the absolutely senseless loss of Aroohi Dheri, her parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh and her uncle, Amandeep Singh. I wish all strength to their family in this time of grief. 🤍🧡 pic.twitter.com/1Qfgyd45vw
— Shanda Green (@ShandaGreen) October 6, 2022

We do have more details on the timeline of the kidnapping, which law enforcement did not become aware of until they discovered Amandeep Singh’s black Dodge Ram abandoned and on fire shortly before Noon on Monday. But the kidnapping had happened a few hours before, at an unnamed business on Highway 59.

“Video surveillance showed a person entering the business with a firearm around 9 a.m. Monday,” according to the Chronicle. “Jasdeep Singh and Amandeep Singh were seen on the video leaving the business a few minutes later, with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, officials said.” The suspect put both men in his truck and drove off, returning 20 minutes later to abduct Kaur and the baby. We still do not know how or why Singh’s vehicle was on fire.

The bodies of all four were found by “a farmworker in the area,” according to Sheriff Warnke, and deputies were alerted late Wednesday afternoon. Warnke said the four bodies were found “relatively close together.”

Despite the awful closure of knowing the family’s fate, there are still plenty of questions about what exactly happened. And we may get more answers, as Salgado is reportedly now well enough to speak with law enforcement. “That suspect has, in fact, been talking to us,” Warnke said at Wednesday night’s press conference.

Image: Merced County Sheriff's Office via Facebook

Suspect In Custody In Merced Kidnapping, But Authorities Still Can’t Find Missing Family

Joe Kukura — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 20:25:38 GMT

A horrifying kidnapping story emerged this week from the San Joaquin Valley, with an abductor allegedly kidnapping a family of four, including an eight-month-old child. While a suspect is now in custody, the family and baby are still missing.

What started as an unexpected vehicle fire Monday morning in the small town of Winton in Merced County, about 100 miles southeast of Sacramento, has turned into a terrifying kidnapping case that’s making national news. Not long before noon Monday, a black Dodge Ram van was found abandoned and in flames, and the Merced Police Department attempted to contact its registered owner.

That owner, Amandeep Singh, could not be reached. His family quickly reported him missing, and as seen below, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office obtained security video indicating Singh had been kidnapped, with an eight-month-old baby Aroohi Dheri, and the baby’s parents Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh.

On Tuesday, KTVU reported a “person of interest” was taken into custody. Security video led them to 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado, though before sheriff’s deputies approached him, they say Salgado “made an attempt on his own life.” They say he “attempted suicide prior to any law enforcement contact,” and they have not yet identified a motive in the kidnapping.

Jesus Manuel Salgado has been identified as a person of interest in the abduction of an 8-month-old baby and other family members. https://t.co/tfdLmNPtwW
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) October 5, 2022

But the family remains missing, with few leads on their whereabouts. And as of now, law enforcement are describing Salgado as a "suspect."

In the above video, taken before Salgado was apprehended, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke (who seems a character) says, "We have a lowlife out there that kidnapped an 8-month-old baby, her mom, her dad and her uncle. So far we have no idea why the kidnapping."

And in a Wednesday morning press conference, we learn the family went through an awful ordeal. Law enforcement authorities announced they had more security video showing the family’s “arms were zip-tied behind their backs” and they were led at gunpoint to “the backseat of a pickup truck.” Sheriff’s deputies also note that “we’ve been unable to speak with the suspect in this case, due to his medical condition.”

Additionally, they say Salgado “has a prior history of robbery,” and that robbery involved “false imprisonment.” He has no further record since being paroled in 2015. Deputies also add that “we kind of figure” his motive was “financial.”

If you have any information regarding the family, you’re asked to call the Merced County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 209-385-7547, and you can remain confidential.

Image: Merced County Sheriff's Office

Kidnapping Hoaxster Sherri Papini Sentenced to 18 Months In Prison Over 2016 Fake Abduction

Joe Kukura — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 19:56:19 GMT

The Dateline-y saga of Sherri Papini came to a close in a U.S. District Court Monday morning, as her 2016 kidnapping hoax netted her a year and a half behind bars, which is more than twice the sentence the prosecutors were seeking.

Back in 2016, the Thanksgiving Day reunion of supposedly abducted Shasta County jogger Sherri Papini seemed too good to be true. Missing for three weeks, the then 34-year-old mother of two was found just hours after a community balloon release and prayer session for her, with a story that she was abducted by "two Hispanic women” who were “malicious” and “subhuman.” Despite her hair being chopped and signs of physical beatings, local newspapers started asking questions about the case, and so did the FBI. Papini was arrested last March, and a little over a month later, pleaded guilty to making the whole thing up.

#SherriPapini arrives to Superior Court in Sacramento on Monday, Sept. 19, 2019. by @sacbee_news @HectorJAmezcua pic.twitter.com/XJT3iUBeMf
— Hector Amezcua (@HectorJAmezcua) September 19, 2022

Which meant this whole six-year saga (and yes it got a Dateline episode) was all over, except for Papini’s sentencing, which was Monday morning at a Sacramento federal court building. According to KTVU, prosecutors were asking U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb for an eight-month sentence, while Papini’s defense argued she should only get a month behind bars.

Sherri Papini, the California woman who pleaded guilty to faking her own kidnapping and lying about it to the FBI, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. #Dateline https://t.co/OWdXsn5Jok
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) September 19, 2022

Neither got what they asked for, but federal prosecutors got more than they asked for. KPIX reports Papini was sentenced to 18 months in prison, “to deter copycats and make up for the number of people Papini's lies impacted. “

“The evidence showed that Papini’s story was a carefully planned, false story. DNA, cellphone, and car rental evidence proved she had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend and that she had harmed herself to support her false statements,” the Department of Justice said in a Monday press release. “Papini was again warned that it was a crime to lie to federal agents and was told about the DNA and telephone evidence showing that she had been with her former boyfriend. Yet, even after this second warning and evidence, Papini continued to make false statements.”

Papini will also have to pay about $310,000 in restitution to the California Victim Compensation Board and the Social Security Administration, both of whom she defrauded by accepting payout money, and to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for the time those groups wasted chasing her case.

And in related news from a few months ago, Papini's long-suffering husband, Keith Papini, filed for divorce in April immediately after Papini entered her guilty plea. Seems like he was duped for a while too, but no more.

In his filing, Keith Papini wrote, "I wish to make it clear that my goal is to provide a loving, safe, stable environment for [our children] and I believe the requested orders are consistent with that goal and the best interests of the children."

Image: Sherri and Keith Papini

Suspect Arrested After Allegedly Trying to Kidnap Two Young Children in the Castro

Jay Barmann — Thu, 28 May 2020 20:08:13 GMT

A 44-year-old man was arrested Wednesday evening after he allegedly tried to pull two young boys out of a car in the Castro neighborhood.

The incident happened at the intersection of 17th and Sanchez around 7 p.m. Wednesday evening. As Bay City News reports, the suspect allegedly reached into the backseat of the vehicle and tried to grab the two boys, ages 2 and 4. A male family member in the vehicle got out and confronted the suspect and called police.

Neither of the boys was injured according to the Chronicle, and police have not responded with any further information about the incident.

Another attempted kidnapping happened in the Castro about a year ago, when an Australian man visiting San Francisco appeared to try to pull a two-year-old child away from his mother. 35-year-old Roscoe Holyoake was arrested in April 2019 and charged with kidnapping and child endangerment. According to SF County Jail records, he's remained in custody ever since, and his next court date is scheduled for July 1.

Holyoake had previously been implicated in a February 2019 incident in Sydney, Australia in which he allegedly asked a stranger if he could play with her child.

SFist will update you as more information about this latest alleged attempted kidnapping is released.

Photo: Google

L.A. Man Arrested In Kidnapping of Fort Bragg Teen Released From Jail as DA's Office Delays Charges

Jay Barmann — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 21:53:55 GMT

A 22-year-old Los Angeles man arrested earlier this week in connection with the weekend disappearance of a 13-year-old Mendocino County girl visiting San Francisco with her family has been released from jail pending charges.

As the Chronicle is reporting, the District Attorney's Office — the leadership of which changes today with the swearing in of Chesa Boudin — decided to delay a charging decision in the case. Only yesterday, the paper reported that the suspect, King John Baylon, was facing 18 felonies including possession or control of child pornography, using a minor for sex acts, and kidnapping for child molestation. It's unclear what prompted the decision to delay charges, but all suspects are legally allowed to get out of jail if prosecutors do not file charges within 48 hours of their arrest.

A spokesperson for the DA's Office, Alex Bastian, simply said that the case remains under investigation.

Following two days of frantic efforts by the girl's family, on social and television media, to locate her, both the girl and Baylon were spotted by bystanders who recognized her at the Ferry Building. Authorities believe that Baylon met the girl — whose name is being scrubbed from the media now that she is believed to be a victim of sexual assault — on the internet. The girl came to the city with her family so that her sister could receive treatment for diabetes at UCSF's Madison Clinic for Pediatric Diabetes. She reportedly claimed she was feeling carsick and she was then seen on surveillance video exiting the hospital. She was later spotted at a local restaurant, where she met up with the suspect.

Baylon was arrested by UCSF police, and the extent of the pending charges against him suggest that the girl may have been recruited for sex trafficking. The pending charges also included meeting a minor for lewd purposes, arranging a meeting with a minor for lewd purposes, contact with a minor for sexual offense, lewd acts upon a child, human trafficking involving a minor, and oral copulation of a person under 18.

Previously: Missing Fort Bragg Teen Found at Ferry Building, 22-y-o Man Arrested

Day Around the Bay: Alleged Kidnapper Of Fort Bragg Teen Faces 18 Felonies

Jay Barmann — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 01:51:37 GMT

State Senator Scott Wiener was shouted down at a press conference today in front of Oakland City Hall as he was trying to reintroduce his controversial housing bill, SB50. He was joined by Mayor Libby Schaaf and state Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), and some other supporters were there, but the protesters were reportedly louder. [Bay City News]
The Oakland mothers squatting in a West Oakland house, known as Moms 4 Housing, were among the protesters, and they got a show of support from Skinner. Skinner said their act of taking over the vacant home was "totally legitimate." [Associated Press]
The 22-year-old man arrested in connection with the disappearance of that 13-year-old girl from Fort Bragg over the weekend is from L.A. He's been booked on 18 felony charges including sex trafficking, sex with a minor, and possession of child pornography. [Chronicle]
A DoubleTree hotel restaurant manager in Berkeley has been charged in the June drugging and rape of a woman who had been dining at the restaurant. [KRON4]
Early-morning raids that Oakland residents were warned of in a Nixle alert Tuesday resulted in the arrest of four suspects wanted for robbery, and the seizure of several illegal weapons. [CBS SF]
Antioch police are seeking a 20-year-old suspect in an October shooting that left the victim with "life-altering" injuries. [CBS SF]
We may now be at war with Iran: Iranian forces targeted two American bases in Iraq with missile strikes overnight. [Associated Press]
President Trump's campaign was already promoting his killing of Iranian Major-General Qassim Suleimani on Facebook, just days after it happened. [New York Times]

Photo: Parker Gibbons/Unsplash

An earlier version of this post had a headline saying the 22-year-old kidnapping suspect from Los Angeles had been charged, but he had only been arrested with 18 charges still pending.

Updates In Mysterious Sherri Papini Abduction Case Include DNA, Few Real Leads

Jay Barmann — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 10:45:07 GMT

Almost a year ago, 34-year-old Sherri Papini was found bruised, beaten, branded, and partially shackled by the side of a highway in Northern California after she had gone missing three weeks earlier while out jogging in her neighborhood near Redding. Now, for the first time in six months, investigators are going public with more details that they've learned, as well as sketches of Papini's alleged abductors, perhaps with the hope of generating more leads because so far, they don't seem to have much.

The case of Papini's disappearance captured the country's attention last November in part because the pretty, blonde, married mother of two appeared to have been snatched, Gone Girl style, in what was otherwise a quiet, suburban neighborhood. The fact that she reappeared, injured and emaciated but alive, 22 days later only made the story more juicy, and the media and the public went about trying to pick it apart and decide if it was some kind of hoax. The Sacramento Bee appeared to be blaming the victim back in March when they released details about Papini's troubled teen years and brushes with the law from years before she was married.

But now, as CBS 5 reports, the investigation is ongoing and the FBI has released the sketches above of the two female captors Papini has described, both of whom primarily spoke Spanish, she said. Also, the Chronicle reports that two individuals' DNA was found on Papini's clothing, that of a man and a woman, and the man was not Papini's husband. Neither was a match in the FBI's national database.

The women allegedly grabbed Papini while she was jogging on November 2, 2016 in a dark-colored SUV. One woman Papini describes as younger with dark curly hair, pierced ears, and thin eyebrows, and the other she describes as older, with straight, graying black hair and thick eyebrows.

Investigators revealed that they had pursued a lead involving a man from Michigan, an acquaintance of Papini's whom she had apparently arranged to meet in the days before her kidnapping, because he was coming to California on business. As the Redding Record-Searchlight reports, via Shasta County Sherrif's Sgt. Brian Jackson, "investigators later determined he wasn't involved in her disappearance."

CBS 5 reports that "more than 20 search warrants were executed in the effort to determine Sherri’s whereabouts," and both Papini and her husband Keith passed polygraph exams. They also sorted through over 600 tips, which have led nowhere.

Also, in terms of other cases of abductions or human trafficking, Sgt. Jackson says that this one seems to stand apart as unusual. "There have been no cases discovered that are similar in nature to this investigation concerning the pattern of operations by the suspect(s), treatment of the captured victim and release of the captured victim," Jackson said in a statement.

Via the Record-Searchlight, there's just one more slightly sketchy detail:

Jackson also shed more light on the condition Papini was in when she was found on the side of the road in Yolo County, and what happened while she was gone including a fight Papini said she had with one of the captors.
Papini told a forensic interviewer that she slammed her younger captor's head into a toilet when she was allowed to leave her captivity room for a shower, Jackson said. He said Papini told the interviewer that she got a cut on the side of her right foot in the fight, but "when she was being processed at the hospital ... no evidence of a cut was seen in the photographs."

Papini, now 35, continues to assist with the case but apparently her recollections of her time in captivity are slim.

Keith Papini issued a statement to the Record-Searchlight Wednesday, saying, "We want to express our immense gratitude to all of the many people who have publicly and privately supported us over the last year. Your well-wishes have helped beyond measure. We are hopeful that the release of additional information by law enforcement will expedite the capture of Sherri’s abductors. This has been an extraordinarily difficult time for our entire family. We ask that the media please respect our need for privacy as Sherri continues to heal and we work towards putting our lives back together."

There remains a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the suspects in the case, and anyone with information about the location where Sherri was held, the suspect vehicle and/or identities of the two suspects are urged to contact the FBI at 916-746-7000 (select option 1), or go online at tips.fbi.gov.

Previously: Reports Surface Describing Troubled Youth Of Alleged Redding Abduction Victim Sherri Papini