Antioch Father who Triggered Amber Alert waves white flag
ANTIOCH – On Monday, June 24 2013, an Amber Alert was broadcast subsequent to a man snatching his young daughter after a domestic dispute. Shortly after 6 p.m., 23-year-old Joshua Elijah Benton surrendered to Antioch police.
The occurrence took place when Benton kidnapped his 11-month-old daughter from a residence located near Rainer and Sunset Lanes east of Lone Tree Way at approximately 10:20 a.m., according to police.
Upon leaving, Benton fired a gun shot in the air and hopped into the passenger seat of a get-away vehicle. A vehicle description was released in the Amber Alert for civilians to be on the lookout for abductee Justice Alasheia Benton in a, “dark green Dodge Caravan or Plymouth with tinted back windows.”
A couple of hours later, police spotted Benton holding his child a short distance from the residence while being trailed by family members. Benton handed the abductee to a relative before fleeing. Fortunately, the child was not injured in any way.
Benton returned to the vicinity of the residence at 6p.m., he was booked into Contra Costa County Jail in lieu of $235,000 bail on suspicion of child cruelty, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse and depriving a legal custodian of a child.
Read more:
Sacramento Bee: Update: 11-moth-old Antioch girl found safe
Mercury News: Antioch: 11-month-old found safe after alleged abduction, police say
CBS Local: Father Arrested After Abducted Antioch Baby Found Safe
KTVU: Father who allegedly kidnapped Antioch infant turns self in