Attempted double kidnapping at Desert Hot Springs elementary school leads to arrest

April 22, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — Authorities say a woman who attempted to abduct two children from a Desert Hot Springs elementary school was arrested after she was forcibly detained by school staff and security officers yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, April 20.

Witnesses have said the woman appeared to target two specific children as they were being dismissed from Bella Vista Elementary School on the 65700 block of Avenida Jalisco; however it was not immediately clear how or if the woman was related to the two juveniles.

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Patrol officers were dispatched to the scene around noon after receiving reports of a woman who was attempting to fight people in the area, Desert Hot Springs Police Department Cmdr. Corinn Pickett has since said of the incident and arrest.

When officers arrived they found Yessica Mercado Chavez, 24, being held by school staff and detained the woman.

During their subsequent investigation, officers learned Chavez “tried to grab several students as they were dismissed from school,” Pickett reportedly told NBC Palm Springs.

Based on their investigation, officers arrested Chavez and she was later booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and violation of probation.

Online jail records indicate Chavez remains in custody in lieu of $110,000 bail or bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Indio Larson Justice Center on April 22.

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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.