Attempted kidnapping suspect to be arraigned

Elias Maldonado, 52, to return to court next month

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A Santa Barbara man will have a second chance to enter a plea to a felony charge of attempted kidnapping connected to his alleged attempt last fall to abduct a 12-year-old Carpinteria girl, prosecutors said.

Elias Maldonado, 52, will return to court next month for arraignment. He was ordered to stand trial following his March 30 preliminary hearing, and he was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, but prosecutors said the matter was postponed.

“The arraignment was continued to 5/3/23,” Deputy District Attorney Hannah Meyer said.

Defendants are initially arraigned in their first court appearance after their arrest, but after their preliminary hearing, they are arraigned again to give them a second chance to choose between pleading not guilty or guilty.

Sheriff’s deputies announced Nov. 10 that they had arrested Mr. Maldonado on suspicion of attempted kidnapping for an incident that occurred two days earlier.

Community Resource Deputy Bryan Dickey was notified Nov. 9 by Carpinteria Middle School staff of a reported kidnapping incident that had occurred at approximately 4 p.m. Nov. 8 in the 5500 block of Carpinteria Avenue near the entrance to the bicycle path.

Deputy Dickey spoke with the female juvenile reporting party, who provided a thorough account of the incident and a suspect description, sheriff’s officials said. He and patrol deputies conducted a follow-up

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