Horrifying video has emerged of an 8-year-old California boy being almost kidnapped in front of his parents on the day his family celebrated the opening of their new business.
Christopher Aaron Higginbotham, 38, reportedly pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping and false charges Friday after he was caught on security camera allegedly grabbing Adrian Villanueva’s son and trying to run away. NBC San Diego.
On March 22, Villanueva was watching her son play outside a new deli in Ocean Beach when she noticed Higginbotham acting strangely, pacing back and forth outside the store. Ta.
Villanueva kept a close eye on her son and Higginbotham, but things quickly deteriorated.
In the blink of an eye, Higginbotham picked Villanueva’s son up in front of him and fled with the boy toward the street.
“I don’t care if he has a weapon or not. I don’t care about that. I was just trying to save my son,” Villanueva told the outlet.
Fortunately, good Samaritans nearby came to the father’s aid, pounced on the man, and subdued Higginbotham until police arrived and took him into custody.
“The fact that I looked into the child’s eyes, you know, when I saw his eyes watering and he was trying to run away from this man, and when he looked at his mother and started crying, It was terrible,” Villanueva explained.
After Higginbotham’s arrest, prosecutors told the media that Cripe had a long history of committing violent crimes.
In 2016, he was charged with assault causing serious bodily injury after punching someone in the face and pulling out a fencing sword at Imperial Beach.
In August, he allegedly hit someone in the jaw with a metal rod, the newspaper reported.
Higginbotham was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly attacking two people in Ocean Beach in an undisclosed incident, prosecutors told the outlet.
Bail was denied after a court ruled he was a threat to society during a hearing on Friday, the newspaper said.
The court also granted an order of protection for Villanueva’s son against Higginbotham.
If convicted of attempted kidnapping and false imprisonment, he could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Higginbotham’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 9.
San Diego County ranks in the 30th percentile for overall safety among counties nationwide, according to . crime grade.
Statistics show that the average chance of being kidnapped in San Diego County is 0.3529 per 1,000 residents.
The odds of being kidnapped in the western part of the county closest to Ocean Beach are 1 in 1,512.
