A man who was video-recorded trying to snatch an 8-year-old Ocean Beach in March pleaded guilty this week to a felony charge connected to the case.
Christopher Aaron Higginbotham, 38, was in San Diego Superior Court Tuesday when he entered a guilty plea to a single count of false imprisonment. During his arraignment on March 29, he pleaded not guilty to a second charge of attempted kidnapping.
The crime was recorded by a security camera
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Last month, the boy's father, who is an OB resident and has three other children, shared his story with NBC 7.
Adrian Villanueva was celebrating the opening of his business on March 22 when, he said, he noticed a man outside walking back and forth and acting strangely. Villanueva didn't think much of it until the man ran back, grabbed his son and headed to the street, according to the father.
"I don't care if he has weapons or he has any of that," Villanueva told NBC 7. "I don't care about that. I was just trying to rescue my son. The fact that I saw the eyes of my kid, you know, when I saw him with the watery eyes, trying to run away from this guy, and then when he sees his mom and starts crying, so it's terrible."
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People nearby helped to release Villanueva's son and restrain the man until police arrived, Villanueva said.
Other alleged violent incidents
According to prosecutors, Higginbotham has committed other violent offenses. They said he was charged with a felony assault in 2016 for punching someone in the face and then pulling out a fencing sword in Imperial Beach, and, last August, he allegedly hit a transient in the jaw with a metal pole.
In a separate incident in Ocean Beach, prosecutors said, Higginbotham attacked two people and was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He also has another violent charge from Colorado, prosecutors said.
At the arraignment last month, Higginbotham was denied bail due to his threat to society.
Higginbotham is due back in court on May 8 for sentencing. He's expected to be ordered to serve a two-year prison term as part of his plea deal.
