(09:00) A man pleaded “no contest” to charges related to a 2016 Soledad kidnapping that triggered an amber alert. On April 14, 2016 28 year-old Carmen Maldonado stole a vehicle from a Soledad home around 6:45 a.m. with 2 year-old boy, Jacob Vargas, in the back seat. Maldonado parked the vehicle in a shed off River Road, locked the child in the car and fled on foot. The child was found safe at 1:30 p.m. on the same day. Maldonado was arrested after a 5 day manhunt. Maldonado is charged with kidnapping a child, child abuse, and auto theft. He will be sentenced to 8 years in prison on September 1.
