Petaluma woman faces jail time in ex-boyfriend's abduction
Published: Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:51 p.m.
A 19-year-old Petaluma woman faces possible jail time for trapping an ex-boyfriend in a friend’s SUV in an attempt to get him to admit he was the father of her newborn baby.
Nichole Espinoza pleaded no contest to a felony count of false imprisonment for the Jan. 6 incident in which a 20-year-old man was lured into a Cadillac Escalade by two other women.
The man fled and went to the police after Espinoza popped out of a back seat and confronted him.
Espinoza was initially charged with felony kidnapping, which carries a three-year prison sentence, but admitted the lesser charge in a plea bargain on Jan. 24.
She was out of custody and with her month-old baby Friday when she appeared before Judge Dana Simonds to request permission to move with her parents to Idaho.
Simonds denied the request, saying Espinoza must remain in the state until her Feb. 23 sentencing. She’s likely to get probation because she has no adult or juvenile criminal record, defense attorney Karen Silver said.
“It was a stupid thing for the girls to do but it was not kidnapping,” Silver said.
Silver said Espinoza had been dating the young man, who she identified only as John Doe, for more than a year before she became pregnant and had the baby in December.
The young man split with Espinoza before the birth and denied responsibility for the child, she said.
Early last month, Espinoza and two girlfriends hatched a plot to get a confession out of him.
The two friends text-messaged the ex-boyfriend, inviting him on a “surprise” trip with just the two of them, Silver said.
He agreed and they met at night at Petaluma’s Prince Park.
As soon as he got in the car, the door locks snapped shut and the SUV sped off.
One of the girlfriends began peppering him with questions about who the father was. At a stop sign on Old Adobe Road, Espinoza popped out of the back seat and confronted him.
It wasn’t clear if he made an admission.
The young man was able to escape and ran home. His mother took him to police, who arrested Espinoza the same day. Her bail was set at $100,000.
The other two women were not charged.
Espinoza was released Jan. 24. Her baby, who had been breast-feeding, was being cared for by her parents.
On Friday, Espinoza appeared before the judge with her mother. She said she had no place to live because her parents bought a home in Idaho.
Simonds denied the request to move with them at the urging of prosecutor Jenica Leonard.
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