Inset: Jose J. Martinez (Newton County Jail). Background: The Missouri truck stop where Martinez allegedly tried to abduct a 3-year-old (Google Maps).
A Missouri man is accused of trying to abduct a toddler from a highway rest stop, allegedly picking up the 3-year-old inside a McDonald's and attempting to leave while directing the child to "[t]ell your grandparents goodbye."
Jose Juan Martinez was taken into custody and charged with one count of second-degree kidnapping, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, an officer with the Neosho Police Department responded shortly after 2 p.m. on Oct. 18 to a McDonald's inside a Love's Travel Stop in Newton County, Missouri, for a report of a possible kidnapping involving a young child.
Five witnesses told investigators they saw all or part of the encounter. From the affidavit:
Witnesses reported that Jose Martinez picked up a juvenile approximately two to three years of age, placed the child on his lap, and then stood up and began walking toward the exit of the restaurant while carrying the child. Witnesses further reported Martinez told the juvenile to "Tell your grandparents goodbye" as he walked toward the door.
When one of the child's guardians tried to take the youngster back, Martinez "initially refused to surrender" the child, the affidavit states. The witnesses said Martinez "eventually" returned the child to the guardian.
Police said a surveillance camera from the restaurant captured the incident and corroborated the witnesses' statements.
After officers detained Martinez and advised him of his Miranda rights, he acknowledged that the child had "sat on his lap" and that he had stood up and walked toward the exit "with the child." Martinez then allegedly claimed "it was a joke," referring to the incident, though he admitted the child "was not known to him."
The officer cited the witness accounts, video and Martinez's statements in finding probable cause that he knowingly restrained the child and tried to remove the youngster from the guardian's custody without consent.
The officer said he arrested Martinez rather than issue him a summons because Martinez works as an "over-the-road commercial truck driver who regularly travels between jurisdictions." The affidavit cited Martinez's work-related travel and ties outside the county in expressing concern that he might not appear in court.
By the time police arrived at the scene, the victim and the victim's family had left the rest stop. Police located and spoke with the family before Martinez was formally charged.
Martinez is being held at the Newton County Jail on $15,000 bond. If released, he is not allowed to contact the victim.
Martinez is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Dec. 8.
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