KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Adds maximum possible sentence if suspect is convicted
Prosecutors plan to arraign a Saugus man accused of kidnapping a 3-year-old from her Newhall home on three charges, officials said Monday.
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Ethan Odom, 37, of Santa Clarita, was arrested at gunpoint for allegedly kidnapping a 3-year-old girl from her house on the 24200 block of Arch Street in Newhall.
A felony complaint charges Odom with, first degree burglary with a person present, which is known as a “hot prowl,” kidnapping with a special allegation of a victim under the age of 14 and attempted kidnapping for a child under 14.
The criminal complaint also acknowledges a previous felony conviction for receiving stolen property.
Odom would face a maximum sentence of 13 years and four months in state prison if he’s convicted of all charges.
The case earned national attention because of the unusual nature of the allegations. Odom reportedly had no connection to the family of the victim.
Odom allegedly walked up to the window, called the girl over and then grabbed her and ran down the street, according to witness accounts.
The alleged abduction, which took place on Arch Street, near the intersection of 5th and Race streets, was reported at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Family members chased the suspect and were able to regain custody of the girl, as deputies worked to set up a containment of the area. The 3-year-old girl was not harmed.
KHTS AM-1220 will be talking about security concerns and keeping children safe from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday on a special program hosted by Alex Urbina, featuring Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Deputy Josh Dubin.
From a previous story:
Related: Santa Clarita Kidnapping Suspect Has Lengthy Record
Odom’s rap sheet dates back to 2001, according to online court records, starting with a petty theft conviction on Aug. 28, 2001. In June 2002, he has a theft-related conviction for a violation of penal code section 666.
In November 2003, Odom was convicted on a fraud charge, California Penal Code section 470(A).
In 2004, he was convicted on two counts of drug possession. In 2006, he was convicted on a public intoxication charge.
In 2007, he was convicted of another violation of section 666, a theft-related charge, and then in October 2007, there was another theft-related conviction for a violation of 484(a) in the California Penal Code.
In June 2008, he was convicted of driving under the influence. Four months later, Odom was convicted of driving with a license suspended due to a DUI conviction in October 2008.
In May 2011, Odom was convicted of receiving stolen property, 496(b).
In September 2013, he was convicted of a public intoxication charge 647(f).
On Nov. 3, 2014, prosecutors filed a 666(a) charge, which used to be a felony conviction with a mandatory state prison sentence. Prior to Proposition 47, a defendant would be charged with 666(a) if he or she had at least three prior petty theft convictions.
However, Proposition 47 eliminated the 666(a) charge and Odom was convicted of a misdemeanor petty theft charge [484(a)] on Nov. 24.
In that case, he was sentenced to a petty theft charge for stealing from Cafe 70s, and he was sentenced to 25 days in jail.
Deputies are asking if you have any additional information regarding this incident, or if you witnessed this incident to please call the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station as soon as possible at 661-255-1121. If you would like to remain anonymous, please call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at [email protected].
Kidnapping a 3yo child, when the suspect has no relation to the child, should be a life sentence! Obviously this guys doesn’t learn from his mistakes and will just get out and possibly be successful next time. The people of California need to wake up and get tough on people who commit crimes against our children and women. We also need to repeal prop 47 which only helps to keep dangerous criminals on our streets. I would much rather pay to keep these people in prison rather than give them government subsidies, have them reproduce and commit more crimes.
I agree with your concerns, but you do take in a rather broad swath when you say you’d rather keep ‘these people in prison than give them government subsidies. This incident is about one person, and, from what I’ve read, this guy sounds nuttier than a fruitcake. If you label someone mentally ill and unfit to be part of society, then the prisons are not an appropriate place to send him or her. That person needs to be under supervision until deemed sane, which could be forever. Creating mental health facilities where people could get better if they have that potential, or are not allowed to be part of society if they can’t, would be a better solution than forcing jails to be mental health facilities for limited terms. Of course, there would be an opportunity for abuse and that would have to be addressed with adequate safe guards.
Whatever Ethan’s motive was or what his intentions were he had no business kidnapping a 3 year little girl and he had no business trying to burglarizing any ones home or business; either way both are felonies under the California Penal Code. Ethan is lucky that the Family of that little girl didn’t kill him before the Sheriff’s Deputies arrived, I have two Daughters myself and if that had been either one of my Daughters that Ethan kidnapped they would be taking me to prison because I would have killed Ethan; yes I know Ethan Odom because his was staying at the Santa Clarita Valley’s Emergency W