POMONA : Woman Pleads Not Guilty in Infant’s Kidnaping
A Downey woman accused of stealing an infant twin from his mother pleaded not guilty Friday and was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Joann Santos, 35, is scheduled back in Pomona Municipal Court on April 6 for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to order her to stand trial.
Santos could be sentenced to up to 11 years in state prison if convicted.
Prosecutors contend she took the infant on Monday after giving the twins’ mother, Maria Magana, a ride in her car. Santos had befriended the Pomona woman when she was pregnant, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Hyatt Seligman.
The baby was returned unharmed Wednesday after police found him at the defendant’s home in Downey, investigators said.
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