Modesto father accused of kidnapping returns to court without handcuffs
A Modesto father accused of abducting his 6-year-old son returned to court Wednesday, but this time without handcuffs.
John Christopher Cosso, 41, posted $300,000 bail Monday and was released from the Stanislaus County Jail. He has been charged with kidnapping and burglary in connection with the abduction of his son, Jayce Cosso.
The boy’s mother, Kimberly Valente, has said Cosso and two other men ripped her son from her arms the morning of Sept. 24 and took him from her north Modesto home. A search for the suspects and the boy, which included an Amber Alert, ended about 24 hours later when authorities found the boy with his dad at a Dublin motel.
The court had scheduled a bail review hearing Wednesday to consider reducing Cosso’s bail amount, but his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Shaun Wahid, told the judge the hearing no longer was necessary since his client had already posted bail.
During the brief hearing, Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova scheduled Cosso to return to court Dec. 3 for a pretrial hearing.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Annette Rees, who is prosecuting the case, informed the court that there is an extensive amount of discovery evidence that the prosecution needs to hand over to the defense.
The judge reminded Cosso that his release from jail required him to stay at least 100 yards away from Valente and her relatives who live at her home, including Jayce.
At Cosso’s first court appearance last week, Córdova also ordered the defendant to not try to communicate with them in person or electronically. And, the judge ordered authorities to track Cosso with a GPS device.
Valente did not attend Wednesday’s hearing, but some of her relatives and friends were in the courtroom.
As Wednesday’s hearing ended, Córdova ordered Cosso to return to his seat in the courtroom audience and remain there for 10 minutes.
The judge said he wanted Valente’s relatives, who might be protected under the restraining order, enough time to leave the courthouse before Cosso walked out of the courtroom. Córdova wanted to prevent any confrontations between the families.
Cosso waited as ordered and walked out of the courtroom about 10 minutes later. He declined to comment for this report.
The abduction occurred about 7:30 a.m. Sept. 24 at Valente’s home on Poinsettia Drive, northeast of Standiford Avenue and Tully Road.
Authorities have said Cosso was accompanied by five other people, including his teenage son, when he went to the home of Kimberly Valente. The suspects broke through the door of the home, assaulted family members and took off with Jayce, according to Valente’s sisters.
About 24 hours later, Alameda County sheriff’s deputies apprehended Cosso and his 17-year old son, Dominic Cosso, as they left the motel on Dublin Boulevard, according to Modesto police.
Dominic is being prosecuted in Juvenile Court. Prosecutors say they are not allowed to discuss any details about cases in that court.
As of Wednesday, there was no indication from the Modesto Police Department that investigators have identified or arrested any other suspects in this kidnapping case.
This story was originally published October 3, 2018 at 10:20 AM.