California Woman Pretended To Be A Nurse To Steal Newborn Baby From Hospital

A woman has been arrested after she allegedly pretended to be a nurse and attempted to steal an infant from a hospital in Riverside County, California on Thursday, July 14.

The accused, Jesenea Miron, 23, was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of kidnapping on Friday, July 15, after she posed as a newly hired nurse at the Riverside University Health System Medical Center on Thursday, July 14, to kidnap a newborn infant.

She allegedly gained access to a maternity medical unit and then went into a patient’s room, where she identified herself as a nurse and attempted to take their newborn baby, WHTM-TV reported.

However, before the suspect could take off with the infant, she was quickly confronted by hospital staff, who then notified security. Miron still managed to flee the location before she was able to be apprehended by hospital security or law enforcement.

Following this, the authorities launched an investigation into the incident and identified Miron as the would-be kidnapper. She was arrested early Friday morning in the 11000 block of Weber St. in Riverside, where investigators also found “additional items of evidentiary value.” However, investigators refused to reveal details about the items found.

Miron is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center on a $1-million bail. She faces a kidnapping charge and is due to appear in the Riverside Hall of Justice on Tuesday, July 19, Los Angeles Times reported.

Following the incident, the CEO Jennifer Cruikshank of the medical center said that the hospital is working with the sheriff’s department to “investigate how the suspect accessed the patient’s room and interacted with the family.”

“Riverside University Health System Medical Center has multiple layers of security to protect the safety and well-being of patients and staff, and we’re thankful those systems and our vigilant staff were able to thwart this suspect … Our security protocols have been reviewed and reinforced, and we have additional sheriff’s deputies on campus. We are also working with the family to address their concerns and ensure their emotional well-being,” Cruikshank said in a prepared statement.

Anyone with information that can help with the case is asked to call Investigator Galvan or Master Investigator Merrill at the Moreno Valley sheriff’s station, at (951) 486-6700, or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at (951) 776-1099.