Surveillance footage contradicts Sorensen’s claim of attempted kidnapping in Petaluma

December 2020 surveillance footage shows a Petaluma couple standing in line at a Michaels store behind the so-called social media influencer who later accused them of trying to kidnap her children while they were at that store.

The prosecution presented the footage, which contradicts the claims made by Katie Sorensen, Wednesday during the second day of testimony in Sorensen’s misdemeanor trial in Sonoma County Superior Court in Santa Rosa.

Testimony is scheduled to resume Thursday morning.

The former Sonoma resident is charged with three counts of making a false report of a crime. If convicted, she could be sentenced to as much as six months in jail for each count or a maximum of 18 months in jail.

Her story gained national attention after she posted an Instagram video where she reiterated her attempted kidnapping claims. Her video attracted millions of views and increased her followers. Investigators later concluded that she fabricated the story.

The video footage the prosecution presented Wednesday depicts the morning of Dec. 7, 2020, when Sorensen went to the Petaluma crafts store on North McDowell Boulevard around the same time as Eddie and Sadie Martinez.

It is meant to dispute Sorensen’s video, in which she accused the couple of following her into the store and trying to abduct her 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

“They weren’t following anyone that I saw,” testified Ed Crosby, a Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office investigator who was a Petaluma police lieutenant in 2020.

Sorensen told police she parked outside Michaels and noticed a suspicious couple who followed her into the store and could be overheard making comments about her children.

She claimed they dropped whatever merchandise they carried and followed her outside, where they were joined by someone in a white van. In her video, but not to police, she said one of them tried to grab her son’s stroller.

Sorensen told investigators they left after she called out to two passersby described as an old man and his caretaker.

Testimony has not yet shown whether her claim was malicious or accidental.

The surveillance footage

On Wednesday, surveillance footage depicted the inside of Michaels and the parking lot via outdoor cameras from the nearby Kohl’s department store.

It showed Sorensen was already parked when the Martinezes pulled into an opposite row about two cars up from her. They got out of their car and entered Michaels three minutes ahead of her.

Shortly after, a man parked a white van in the same row as Sorensen but about two spots down. He entered Michaels two minutes after her and also could be seen shopping in the footage.

Eddie Martinez wandered from his wife at times and Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Robert Waner asked Crosby if that was suspicious.

“Out of respect to attempted kidnapping, I’ve yet to see elements of that crime thus far,” he replied.

Waner asked Eddie Martinez if he and his wife had conspired to kidnap anyone and he said no.

“I just went and looked around,” he testified. “I don’t recall looking at or following anyone.”

According to the footage, the closest the Martinezes got to Sorensen was when they were in the cashier’s line directly behind her.

The couple had their backs to Sorensen since they were using cashiers that faced each other. Eddie Martinez walked off camera in Sorensen’s direction after she left the store, but he denied following her.

“I just wanted to get out of there and go eat. I just kept walking,” he testified Wednesday.

He and Sadie Martinez, who finished her testimony that began on Tuesday, both said they never knew Sorensen before Dec. 7. They also denied knowing the van driver, who also appeared in Michaels’ surveillance footage.

Crosby verified the man was linked to the van but added he was never located for an interview.

The couple testified they went to Michaels to buy Christmas ornaments before heading to their car. They only stopped briefly because Eddie Martinez wanted lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant before his wife determined it was closed.

Their brief stop was visible in the parking lot footage, which showed no interaction with Sorensen as she loaded her vehicle nearby.

The Martinezes’ car was already leaving the parking lot by the time the van driver walked past Sorensen and left, also without interacting with her.

The old man and caretaker also were visible in the footage and they too never spoke to Sorensen.

Defense attorney Charles Dresow didn’t challenge the couple and his cross-examination mostly revolved around clarifying their version of events.

“So you were just on autopilot?” he asked, regarding Eddie Martinez’s testimony that he wandered around the store.

He replied yes.

Wednesday’s proceedings ended before Dresow could cross-examine Crosby about the surveillance footage.

Sorensen contacted authorities shortly after leaving the store and was interviewed by a Petaluma police officer.

A full investigation began a week later after her Instagram video surfaced and investigators say it included details that weren’t presented to them the prior week.

They specifically pointed out that she said, at that time, that the couple tried to grab her son’s stroller.

During a follow-up interview with Sorensen on Dec. 14, 2020, investigators showed her surveillance footage from Michaels. Prosecutors said Sorensen positively identified the then-unknown Martinezes as the people who tried to take her children.

Court documents show Sorensen told Petaluma police Detective Corie Joerger, “I’m 100% sure that’s them.”

When pressed, Sorensen added, “One hundred percent, they reached for my children. Stroller, 100%. They were saying things that they shouldn’t have been saying about my kids.”

Petaluma police circulated the footage and the Martinezes came forward.

Police later announced Sorensen’s claims were without merit and cleared the Martinezes of any alleged wrongdoing.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi