Victim Called Friend and Reported Crime
SALINAS—Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputies, after a lengthy search, arrested 29-year-old Steven James Acosta on kidnapping charges after he was found hiding in a closet at a stranger’s home on Chestnut Street on Tuesday evening, July 7.
On that day, a little after 5 pm, a friend of the victim received a text message from her stating that Acosta was holding her against her will and that she was bleeding. She also reported that he was using methamphetamine and knew authorities wanted him. A few minutes later the reporting party received a “panic call” from the victim stating she was in a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant on South Main Street in Salinas, having locked herself in the bathroom. The reporting party called the police.
Acosta, who was still seated in the vehicle, fled on foot as deputies arrived on the scene. He ran to a residence on Chestnut Street and forced his way into the house and hid from deputies.
Upon questioning the victim, it was determined that Acosta had demanded that she drive him from his residence in Greenfield to her home in the Bay Area so he could “hide out”.
When Acosta got out of the car momentarily, the victim attempted to get away, but he was able to stop her by throwing a rock through the back window, shattering it. When she stopped to clear away the glass he got back into the car and demanded that she drive him to Salinas. He apparently fell asleep on his way to Salinas, and that’s when she retrieved her phone and started texting her friend. She then stopped and hid in the Jack-In-The-Box restroom.
After deputies found Acosta hiding in the Chestnut home, they searched him and found that he had two methamphetamine pipes in his clothing. Acosta was booked into Monterey County Jail on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment by violence, breaking into a home, and resisting arrest.
