Woman Sentenced in Attempted Abduction
A39-year-old woman who lost custody of her children after suffering a nervous breakdown was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for attempting to kidnap a 9-month-old boy.
Geraldine Medrano pleaded guilty in San Fernando Superior Court Thursday to one count of attempted kidnaping for grabbing Eric Lukes from the arms of his mother, Diane Lukes, on Victory Boulevard in Sherman Oaks on June 15.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Harold S. Lynn said Medrano approached Diane Lukes, said “you cannot take care of that baby,” struck Lukes in the face, grabbed the child and fled.
She was stopped by two passers-by, who returned the child to Lukes and left without identifying themselves. Police found Medrano sitting on a curb nearby, Lynn said.
The women did not know each other.
Lynn said Medrano is mentally unstable and has been homeless for the last 1 1/2 years. Her two children, whose ages were not available, live with Medrano’s mother in Van Nuys.
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