The bigger they are, the harder they fall -- unless there's a plea deal involved.
Victor Joseph Espinoza, a Santa Ana, Calif., man with ties to Mexican gangs, received a 32-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to false imprisonment charges stemming from his attempted kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy in October 2012.
CBS Los Angeles reports that charges of street terrorism and a sentencing enhancement for gang activity were dropped in exchange for Espinoza's guilty plea.
According to LAist, Espinoza approached his victim, who was on his way to soccer practice, and asked the boy if he'd liked to see his gang tattoo.
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Witnesses claim Espinoza then grabbed his victim and sniffed his arm, but that the boy managed to break free and run away. The boy's soccer coach later confronted Espinoza, tackled him and tried to restrain him.
"The little boy came crying at me, saying that man wanted to take him. He said that he grabbed him and he started smelling him," the coach, who wished to remain anonymous, told ABC Los Angeles at the time.
The 425-pound suspect made news in October after his distinctive mugshot went viral. Santa Ana police also released infrared video of Espinoza hiding in a yard moments before his arrest.
Although the details of the attempted kidnapping skew bizarre, police did not take any chances in pursuing Espinoza.
Santa Ana police spokesman Antony Bertanga described the suspect to ABC News as an "old school, old time gangster" with more than 60 prior arrests over 30 years, and a rap sheet that includes drug possession, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.
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