Woman arrested for allegedly impersonating nurse, attempting to steal newborn baby
A woman is being held on $1 million bail after authorities say she dressed up as a nurse and attempted to steal a baby from a maternity ward at a California hospital.
Staff at the Riverside University Health System – Medical Center in Moreno Valley, California, notified authorities at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday of "an individual impersonating a nurse on campus," according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The sheriff's office said the woman, later identified as 23-year-old Jesenea Miron, had posed as a newly hired nurse when she was in the hospital, gaining access to the unit where newborn infants were. She then entered a patient's hospital room and told the patient she was a nurse. In the room, authorities said Miron then attempted to take the patient's baby.
Miron was confronted by hospital staff about the incident. Hospital security was notified, but Miron had fled the scene before she could be apprehended by security or law enforcement.
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Investigators from the Moreno Valley Sheriff's Station later identified Miron as a suspect. Authorities obtained a search warrant for her home in Moreno Valley, less than 5 miles north of the hospital, where she was arrested Thursday night.
"Additional items of evidentiary value were also located inside the residence," the sheriff's department said.
Miron is facing kidnapping charges and being held at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on $1 million bail. She is scheduled to appear in court on July 26.
NBC Los Angeles reported the mother and baby involved in the incident were not harmed.
Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.