See the update at the end of this post on the charges and possible prison time the defendant faces and which church posted his original $100,000 bail.
The Costa Mesa Police Department is dealing with a wild case involving a 58-year-old Laguna Hills man awaiting a Nov. 2 court appearance for allegedly molesting and sexually assaulting a teen female relative. Jesus Acosta-Inchaorrondo is now also facing felony conspiracy to kidnap and witness tampering counts for allegedly plotting to snatch the girl and whisk her away to Mexico so she could not testify against him.
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Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) officers previously arrested Acosta-Inchaorrondo, who was out on bail when another man contacted cops Wednesday morning to say the accused solicited him to kidnap the girl. The caller informed police that he told Acosta-Inchaorrondo he would think about the plot that would the girl transported to Mexico against her will.
The reporting party then met with Costa Mesa detectives to go over plans for a secret meeting with Acosta-Inchaorrondo, where an undercover officer would pose as a helper in the abduction.
“The undercover detective ultimately arranged to meet with the suspect in a shopping center parking lot in Lake Forest,” reads a statement from Lt. Paul Dondero of the Costa Mesa Police Investigative Services Bureau. “With additional detectives watching nearby, the suspect negotiated with the detective for the abduction of the girl for an agreed upon price.
“He further provided the detective documents and details as to how to recognize the girl, where she went to school, and the best place to try and grab her, telling him to take her into Mexico and leave her on the street with a warning not to return.”
As Acosta-Inchaorrondo was preparing to leave, police swooped in and arrested him before booking him into Orange County Jail, where he is now being held without bail. Dondero states his agency can justify this because Acosta-Inchaorrondo is alleged to have violated the terms of his prior release on bail, as well as an immigration hold.
The police department and the Orange County District Attorney's office is now working with the girl's family and school to ensure her future safety, according to Dondero. Her name, age, school and city of residence, as well as the identity of the informant, are being withheld to protect both.
Meanwhile, police are putting out the word in case others believe they were victimized by Acosta-Inchaorrondo. If that's you or someone you know, contact Costa Mesa Police Detective Michelle Bradbury at 714.754.5120 or Detective Sergeant Ed Everett at 714.754.5395.
UPDATE, OCT. 26, 3:56 P.M.: A statement this afternoon from the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) mentions that a collection among congregants of Iglesia Cristo Rompe Las Cadenas de OC raised the funds for Acosta-Ichaorrondo's original $100,000 bail for the molestation and sexual assault counts.
Following the kidnap plot allegations, he's now being held without bail.
The Laguna Hills man was scheduled to be arraigned today on one felony count each of
solicitation to commit kidnap, attempted kidnapping, dissuading a
witness by force or threat, and one misdemeanor count of violating a
protective order, with a sentencing enhancement for crime-bail-crime. Conviction on those and the previous counts could send him to prison for 29 years, according to the OCDA.
Prosecutors have also committed their resources to the ongoing investigation. Besides contacting CMPD Detectives Michelle Bradbury at 714.754.5120 or Sergeant Ed Everett at 714.754.5395, anyone with information or who believes they've been victimized can call Supervising OCDA
Investigator Lou Gutierrez at 714.347.8794.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.