Photo: William Henderson
Santa Barbara County – A simple shopping trip to a Buellton Albertson’s grocery store turned into a potential nightmare for a young mother on the afternoon of August 7th.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Erik Raney, a 2-year-old toddler was allegedly pulled from the seat of his mother’s shopping cart by 56-year-old Santa Ynez resident William Henderson, whereupon Henderson “started walking toward the exit” with the child in tow.
At that point, the mother spotted her child heading for the exit and confronted Henderson. Henderson then promptly “released the child” and fled the premises.
The ensuing investigation into the incident identified Henderson as “the owner of a local transportation business,” which helped detectives to locate him at his place of business on August 13th.
He was taken into custody and was then introduced to the niceties of public transportation, courtesy of SBSD detectives for a ride to Santa Barbara County Jail, where was booked on a charge of felony kidnapping and misdemeanor child endangerment, with his bail set at $100,000.
In his report to the media, Raney indicated that “deputies are looking for additional witnesses to the incident” with suspicions that there may be other crimes involving Henderson that have not been reported to authorities.
With that in mind, the public is urged to contact the Buellton Sheriff’s Station with any additional information via the SBSD Anonymous Tip Line at (805) 681-4171.
Photo: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
