Parents plead no contest to kidnapping children from Boyle Heights

Two parents have been sentenced to prison after admitting they abducted their children from Boyle Heights and took them to the U.S.-Mexico border, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday.

Enrique Felix, 28, pleaded no contest Monday to two counts of kidnapping, four counts of child stealing and admitted to having a prior conviction for criminal threats. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Rose Chairez, 28, pleaded no contest to one count each of kidnapping and child stealing. Though she was given a five-year prison sentence, the term was suspended and Chairez will instead be on formal probation, prosecutors said. She also was ordered to stay away from her children.

In March, the couple kidnapped their four kids – Enrique, 7; Justin, 5; and 1-year-old twins Veronica and Janet — from their grandmother’s home in Boyle Heights. Their abduction triggered an Amber Alert.

Police said the couple did not have custody of the children and had been ordered to stay away from them except for supervised visits by county social workers.

Authorities said Felix was also known to be “physically violent” toward Chairez and their children.

Four days later, Felix’s mother contacted detectives and told them she was at the U.S.-Mexico border with the children, police said. The children were brought back to Los Angeles, and arrest warrants were issued for Chairez and Felix. The pair eventually surrendered to police without incident.

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