Man Gets 5-Year Sentence in Attempted Kidnaping of Girl

A Tustin ice cream vendor was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to breaking into a neighbor’s home and kidnaping a 7-year-old girl who was later rescued--unharmed--by her uncle.

Pablo Vasquez Bojorquez, 35, gained access to his neighbor’s home across the street by slipping in through an unlocked sliding door. He snatched Fabiola Lopez as she slept, draping her over his shoulder as he tried to make his getaway.

Bojorquez’s movements awakened the girl’s uncle, Hernan Salazar, who was dressed only in his undershorts when he chased Bojorquez down the street. Bojorquez dropped Fabiola and hid in some nearby bushes, where he was later found by a police dog.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carolyn Carlisle-Raines said Tuesday she would not speculate about Bojorquez’s intentions when he kidnaped the girl.

Deputy Public Defender MacDonald Becket said his client was intoxicated on the night of the attempted kidnaping and has been extremely remorseful since his arrest.

“He was very intoxicated, confused, disoriented,” Becket said. “I can say that he meant the little girl no harm. This is a situation that he has been very remorseful about since he was arrested.”

Orange County Municipal Court Judge Donna L. Crandall sentenced Bojorquez immediately after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony burglary and kidnaping charges.

At the time of his June 29 arrest, Bojorquez told police two men were trying to rob him and he believed he would be safe from an attack if he were carrying the child in his arms.