Transient accused of kidnapping boy from Milpitas library appears in court

MILPITAS, Calif. (KTVU) - On Tuesday, 23-year-old Alfonso Edington who's accused of kidnapping a three-year-old boy from the "children's section" of the Milpitas library appeared in a Santa Clara County courtroom.

The judge set Edington's bail at $100,000.

Authorities said Edington, who is a transient, didn't know the boy and credit an alert VTA driver for the boy's safe return after catching him with the child on his coach.

Back in February, Edington assaulted Adam Blum on a sidewalk in Los Gatos and plead no contest to that case. Blum said he knew back then, Edington was clearly disturbed and had mental health issues.

"He just did time served and he's let go," said Blum. "My wife and I thought he's going to do some random crazy thing."

Blum is the CEO of OpenEd, a ed-tech company out of Los Gatos. Blum was getting coffee when out of nowhere Edington sucker punched him while crossing the street at a major Los Gatos intersection.

Edington accused Blum of taking his wallet and took off running.

"He just seemed off and seemed sort of confused," said Blum. "It was very bizarre. There's no crime here in Los Gatos."

Blum chased him a few blocks before police arrested Edington. Blum pressed charges hoping Edington would get help.

It's something Blum believes the courts didn't take seriously. Court documents reveal Edington plead no contest in that case serving less than five days in jail.

"That doesn't give him a chance to get the help he clearly needed," said Blum. "It didn't seem like anyone really said what's going on with this kid."

The district attorney's office held off on requesting a mental evaluation of Edington at Tuesday's court appearance saying it's still an ongoing investigation. If convicted for felony kidnapping, Edington could face 11 years in prison.