The suspect in a recent child abduction case at Fair Oaks Mall has a long criminal history. And he was released from custody just days before the incident, court records show.
On July 18, Andres Caceres Jaldin, 26, was arrested for attempting to abduct a 3-year-old girl at Fair Oaks Mall. According to the Fairfax County Police Department, the girl was near an indoor play area when Caceres Jaldin picked her up and walked away. He made it to the second level of the mall when one of the girl’s parents intervened and got her back unharmed. He fled the area before police arrived.
FCPD detectives identified Caceres Jaldin as the suspect and determined he was staying at the Extended Stay in Chantilly. Detectives also learned that Caceres Jaldin had stolen a car prior to the abduction. The vehicle was captured on video surveillance at the mall and detectives located it in the parking lot of the hotel. Caceres Jaldin was arrested as he exited his hotel room.
Court records show Caceres Jaldin has been charged with more than 40 crimes, including numerous violent offenses. They include multiple counts of assault and battery, malicious wounding, and property destruction in 2024. They also include additional assault and battery and malicious wounding charges this year.
Gov. Youngkin Calls for Investigation
On August 1, Gov. Glenn Youngkin posted about the case on social media. He wrote that he was asking Attorney General Jason Miyares to open a “full investigation of the repeated failures of the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney to protect the citizens he was elected to serve.”
“A repeat offender was let out of jail in Fairfax County three days before he was caught on camera attempting to abduct a 3-year-old little girl in broad daylight,” Youngkin posted. “There is a shocking and unforgivable pattern in Fairfax County of releasing criminals back onto Virginia’s streets instead of keeping them behind bars.”
Stewart Whitson, a Republican candidate running for the 11th congressional district seat vacated by Gerry Connolly, also posted about the case on social media. “A toddler kidnapped in broad daylight from our neighborhood mall. This is what happens when soft-on-crime politicians put criminals ahead of your family,” Whitson said.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for August 21 in Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Feature image courtesy Fairfax County Police Department
