California

Bodycam Footage Shows Utah State Trooper Arrest 2 Suspected of Kidnapping 2 Children

Joshua Adle is accused of abducting his two baby daughters after a fight with their mother

Body camera footage released Tuesday shows the tense moments a Utah state trooper spotted a kidnapping suspect's van, pulled over the vehicle, took the suspects into custody and rescued the two children who were abducted from their Southern California home on July 30. 

Joshua Adle, who was arrested Aug. 1 following a nationwide manhunt, made his initial court appearance Aug. 8 and was appointed an attorney. 

He is accused of abducting his two baby daughters after a fight with their mother and driving to Utah, where he was apprehended four days later. 

The 24-year-old Riverside man is charged with two counts each of kidnapping and child endangerment, as well as one count of assault resulting in great bodily injury and battery on a domestic partner.

The defendant, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and shackled at the hands and feet, appeared before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Jackson, who appointed him a public defender and scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 15 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Adle is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

According to Riverside police, Adle and his live-in girlfriend, whose name was withheld, got into an argument at their residence in the 3100 block of Grace Street on the night of July 30. The dispute escalated into a physical confrontation, during which he allegedly struck the woman, who put their two daughters -- 8-month-old Emma Yonko and 18-month-old Darla Yonko -- to bed and exited the property to relieve tensions, police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback said.

He alleged that between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., Adle snatched the girls and fled in a Dodge van. When the mother returned, she found the children gone and called 911.

Over the ensuing four days, law enforcement agencies throughout the country were alerted to the alleged abduction, and investigators became aware that individuals identifying themselves as friends or relatives of the defendant were in contact with him, Railsback said.

"They were given every opportunity to facilitate the safe return of the children, but maintained their lack of cooperation," he said.

Photographs of Adle and the children were broadcast nationally, and on Aug. 1, a Utah state trooper spotted the defendant's van on Interstate 15 in Cedar City, where the lawman conducted a traffic stop and encountered Adle, two other adults, and the victims.

The adults were taken into custody without a struggle, and Emma and Darla, neither of whom were injured, were placed in the care of child welfare workers, who arranged for an expedited reunion with their anxious mom.

The parties arrested alongside the defendant, Frank Marks and Angela Yonko, identified as his parents, were booked into the Iron County Jail and are awaiting extradition to Riverside County.

Adle was returned Aug. 6. 

He has no documented prior felony convictions.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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