Suspect in child abduction caught on video at Virginia mall involved in over 30 prior criminal cases

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. -- Scary moments unfolded inside a Virginia mall when a man grabbed a toddler at a popular play area for children.

According to Fairfax County police, Andres Caceres Jaldin even made it to the upper level of Fair Oaks Mall before the child's parents stopped him.

Virginians For Safety President Sean Kennedy told 7News he was stunned by how quickly the abduction happened.

"It's striking that somebody could do this in broad daylight, and no one would notice," Kennedy said. "This can happen right under people's noses, and no one would know the better."

With the help of their real-time crime center, officers arrested the suspect soon after also discovering he allegedly stole a car earlier that day.

7News dug into the suspect's lengthy criminal record, detailing more than 30 criminal cases in Fairfax County, including a felony charge just weeks before the abduction for allegedly not stopping at the scene of a car accident.

He has also been charged with assault and battery of a family member and malicious wounding. But records show Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano declined prosecuting those two cases.

"It's really disturbing. Somebody with a criminal history this long, including many violent offenses, and offenses that resulted in bodily injury to members of his family and to the public," Kennedy said. "And he was released to the public. That shouldn't have happened."

7News On Your Side asked Descano's office the following questions:

• Why was he not already in custody? He had a couple of cases from just a few weeks before, paired with his lengthy rap sheet.


• Are there plans to allow him out of custody pre-trial?


• What's your response to people who see he was not in custody despite his rap sheet, and say this attempted abduction could have been avoided?

7News On Your Side will update when Descano's office responds.

Currently, Caceres Jaldin is being held in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond.

"If this individual is criminally dangerous, then he needs to be in prison. If he's mentally incompetent, he needs to be committed because he has demonstrated himself to be a threat to public safety, and now that almost resulted in either the harm or the loss of life to a small child," Kennedy said. "I'm going to be watching this case very closely. This strikes at the heart of public safety in Fairfax County."

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