Woman Accused of Snatching Daughter from Guardian Arraigned
Woman Accused of Snatching Daughter from Guardian Arraigned
by Contributing Editor
A Los Angeles woman accused of snatching her daughter from the child’s legal guardian in Moreno Valley pleaded not guilty Thursday to kidnapping and other charges.
Nakia Shaunte Criddell, 28, was arrested last month following a Riverside County sheriff’s investigation that spanned less than a day.
Along with kidnapping, Criddell is charged with child stealing, burglary and child endangerment.
She was arraigned by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gail O’Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for July 1 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
The defendant, who is acting as her own attorney, is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
About 5:30 a.m. on May 14, the convicted felon allegedly forced her way into her aunt’s home in the 12000 block of Romford Court and grabbed her 8-year-old daughter, overcoming the victim’s resistance and fleeing with her in a sedan.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Craig Roberts said detectives quickly developed leads that the defendant was headed for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and they enlisted the assistance of sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers there.
Criddell was ultimately determined to be in Manhattan Beach, and she was located with her daughter inside a business on Sepulveda Boulevard, where law enforcement officers took the woman into custody without incident, according to Roberts.
He said the girl was returned to her aunt, unharmed.
According to court records, the defendant has a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction, but no details were available.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
