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Crime & Safety

Preliminary Hearing Scheduled for Accused Kidnapper

Man who was arrested after standoff in Costco parking lot will face multiple felony counts

An Aug. 22 preliminary hearing date was set today for a 
Cathedral City man accused of with his year-
old son in a Costco parking lot.

Florentino Perez Jr., 26, is charged with one felony count each of
kidnapping and willful child cruelty, along with a misdemeanor charge of
resisting or delaying a peace officer. A Riverside County Superior Court judge
also issued a criminal protective order barring the defendant from having any
contact with the alleged victims.

The preliminary hearing will determine if there is enough evidence for
Perez to stand trial.

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On May 2, a deputy saw a woman -- later identified as Perez's wife --
yelling for help as she hung from the front passenger door of a car traveling
south on Monterey Avenue at Dinah Shore Drive in Rancho Mirage around 7:15 p.m.

The car was pulled over in Palm Desert outside Costco at 72800 Dinah
Shore. In the parking lot, the woman ran from the vehicle, saying she had been
kidnapped and her year-old son was still inside the car, according to the
sheriff's department.

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Perez refused to leave the car, prompting deputies to break windows and
remove the child, according to the sheriff's department. A police dog was then
unleashed and Perez, who was bitten on his upper arm, was arrested and taken to a hospital. The woman and child were unharmed.

Perez's wife said she had been "suffering from ongoing domestic issues
and her husband had been drinking and was despondent,'' according to a
sheriff's statement.

Perez is free on a $60,000 bond.

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