Couple pleads guilty to kidnapping Hispanic baby in California

• Couple pleaded guilty to kidnapping 3-month-old Brandon Cuellar.
• Yesenia Ramirez and Jose Roman Portillo pleaded guilty to eight counts.
• Ramirez pretended to be pregnant and the judge believes that she was going to «raise the child as if it were her own.»

The couple accused of kidnapping 3-month-old Brandon Cuellar last April in San Jose, California, pleaded guilty to all the charges they faced, thus avoiding going to trial, reported ABC 7.

Yesenia Ramírez and José Román Portillo pleaded guilty on Tuesday, August 4, to eight charges that include conspiracy to commit kidnapping, residential robbery and four attempted kidnapping of baby Brandon Cuellar, the outlet reported.

Hispanic couple pleads guilty to kidnapping

The Hispanic couple’s guilty plea was made at a preliminary hearing in Santa Clara County Court. The infant’s kidnapping occurred on April 25 at his residence in San José.

The baby’s grandmother reported that after momentarily leaving her home to unload groceries from her vehicle, she went back inside to discover that the baby was gone. The preliminary investigation revealed that a suspect, later identified as Portillo, had entered the house and kidnapped the baby, according to EFE.

How was Brandon Cuellar kidnapped?

Surveillance camera footage from the area showed the suspect arriving at the victim’s residence holding a child’s car seat. Detectives discovered that before the kidnapping Ramírez, who met the baby’s family at a church in San José, had transported the baby and his grandmother to run errands.

The woman, of Salvadoran origin, was arrested after changing her version of events several times. On the morning of April 26, the San José Police arrested Portillo and executed a search warrant at his home, where the healthy baby was found. Assistant District Attorney Rebekah Wise, quoted by ABC-7, said Ramirez accepted a maximum sentence offer of up to 14 years in prison for pleading guilty. However, she noted that she would have preferred the defendant to face a sentencing hearing, which would have given her an additional 16 years in prison.

What the kidnappers were planning

Wise stated that Ramírez pretended to be pregnant and believes that the woman was going to “raise the child as if it were her own.” For his part, Portillo accepted his guilt in exchange for a maximum sentence of five years. His defense attorney alleged that he was a victim because he was in love with Ramírez.

A San Jose Police detective testified in court that there is evidence the suspects cut the brakes on the car of the baby’s mother, Jéssica Carolina Ayala. The suspects allegedly tried to take the boy on at least four other occasions in the weeks leading up to the actual kidnapping. Portillo posed as a Child Protective Services worker and visited Ayala’s home, according to Wise.

Yesenia Ramírez could be deported

Ramírez and Portillo had allegedly planned to kidnap Brandon from a Walmart store twice, once on March 28 and once on the morning of the day of the actual kidnapping. On the first attempt, according to ABC-7, they were unable to change the shopping carts for Portillo to leave the store with the baby and the second time Ramírez was unable to distract the child’s grandmother.

The two will be sentenced on October 28. Ramírez had been deported to El Salvador three times, once in 2018 and twice in 2019. After serving her sentence, she is expected to be placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).