A couple who abducted their four young children from their maternal grandmother and took them to Mexico pleaded no contest to kidnapping and child stealing charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench sentenced 28-year-old Enrique Felix to 11 years in prison immediately following his no contest plea Monday to two counts of kidnapping and four counts of child stealing.
Felix also admitted he had a prior conviction for making a criminal threat, according to Deputy District Attorney Whelma Llanos.
Rose Chairez, 28, pleaded no contest to one count each of kidnapping and child stealing and was ordered to serve five years on probation and to stay away from her children, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The judge suspended a five-year state prison term that Chairez will not have to serve if she complies with the terms of her probation.
Their two sons, ages 6 and 8, and their year-old twin daughters were abducted March 14 from the Boyle Heights home of their maternal grandmother, who had custody of them.
After a statewide Amber Alert was issued, the children were found March 18 at the U.S.-Mexico border and returned to Los Angeles, where they remain under the supervision of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services. Their parents surrendered 12 days later to authorities at the Otay Mesa border crossing.
— City News Service