SUNNYVALE, Calif – The Sunnyvale Police Department announced the arrest this Thursday of a man wanted in the attempted murder and kidnapping of an 8-year-old girl on June 19. The incident occurred near the 500 block of North Britton Avenue in Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Captain Jeff Hunter said, “There is a warrant for his arrest in the system, and he is considered armed and dangerous”.
44-year-old Jose Luis Valencia was arrested after a seven day manhunt after he had taken his daughter with a 33-year-old woman he had been involved with, and severely stabbed during an argument. After stabbing the woman he then fled the scene, and kidnapped their daughter late Thursday night. This sparked a statewide Amber Alert, which is coordinated nationally by the U.S. Department of Justice to help find abducted children.
The daughter of the man and woman was found early Friday morning when he abandoned his car at a family member’s home. The girl was brought to the Sunnyvale Police Station where she was later returned to her mother. Valencia was then believed to have driven away in a second vehicle, a bright yellow Ford Escape. The girl was unharmed during the incident.
During the week long manhunt for Valencia, he had managed to evade authorities until the Sunnyvale investigators were able to catch up to him early Thursday morning. Valencia was booked into the Santa Clara Main Jail and remains without bail. The woman has since been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
