The man accused of kidnapping a 3-year-old boy during a carjacking in downtown Fresno last week appeared in a Fresno County Courtroom on Thursday.
Ventura Francisco Torres Romero used his public defender to enter not-guilty pleas to Judge John Vogt.
“Sir, I am going to appoint counsel to represent you,” Judge John Vogt said. “We entered pleas of not guilty (and) denials of any enhancements.”
Investigators say Romero jumped in an SUV near Mariposa and Fulton streets last Friday. A three-year-old boy was inside, left alone as his father briefly stepped out to pick up dinner.
Police considered using spike strips as they chased Romero on a busy Highway 99 and Belmont Avenue.
“Vehicle is out of control right now,” a dispatcher said over police radios. “Still going westbound. Approaching Grantland.”
Romero’s blanket not-guilty plea comes as investigators tell Action News that Romero already confessed to parts of the crime.
“He did admit to our officers that he stole the vehicle, but he stated that he did not know there was a child inside until the officers stopped him,” Fresno Police Department Sergeant Diana Trueba Vega said Monday.