A 25-year-old San Francisco woman was booked on felony kidnapping and evading charges after allegedly leading a sheriff's deputy on a six-and-a-half-mile chase up Highway 1 from Half Moon Bay to Pacifica with a passenger locked inside her car, and then telling the deputy she was Cleopatra.
A Bizarre Claim at the End of a Coastal Pursuit
Cristina Valdivia was booked last Saturday under booking number 0878814, with California Public Arrest Records listing felony kidnapping under Penal Code Section 207(a) among her charges. According to SFist, Valdivia was also charged with misdemeanor DUI, narcotics possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and fleeing a police officer. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Valdivia told the arresting deputy, “Officer, I'm Cleopatra. I'm the queen of Egypt,” and asked for help locating Julius Caesar before the deputy could even ask for her identification, according to a Peninsula Buzz report on Wagstaffe's account.
Wagstaffe said the pursuit began last Saturday morning as Valdivia allegedly drove recklessly in Half Moon Bay with a passenger inside the car, then sped northbound on Highway 1 toward Pacifica. A sheriff's deputy eventually stopped the vehicle in a Pacifica cul-de-sac, per SFist's reporting. The stretch of Highway 1 between the two coastal towns runs roughly six to seven miles along steep ocean bluffs with limited shoulders, according to Caltrans.
Passenger Allegedly Locked Inside During the Chase
SFist reports that Valdivia allegedly locked the vehicle's doors while the passenger was inside, and that the passenger reportedly told authorities he tried to get out of the car during the pursuit. Her vehicle also had a blown tire, and she allegedly continued driving north through San Mateo County from Half Moon Bay on the damaged wheel, per the same account. Under California Penal Code Section 207, simple kidnapping is defined as moving a person a substantial distance against their will using force or fear, an offense that carries three to eight years in state prison, according to the Shouse Law Group.
The evading charge carries its own weight. California Vehicle Code Section 2800.2 defines felony reckless evading as fleeing a pursuing law enforcement vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, punishable by up to three years in state prison, per Shouse Law Group's analysis of the statute. Driving on a blown tire or bare wheel rim during a chase can satisfy that reckless-disregard standard under California law.
Released on Own Recognizance, Pleads Not Guilty
Valdivia has pleaded not guilty to all charges, SFist reports, and was released on her own recognizance following her arraignment. Under California Penal Code Section 1270, an own-recognizance release allows a defendant to be freed from custody without posting bail after signing a written promise to appear at future hearings and comply with court conditions, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Such a release does not mean charges have been dismissed.
San Mateo County Pretrial Services, run through the County Probation Department in coordination with the Sheriff's Office, conducts background checks and risk evaluations that inform judges' release decisions at arraignment, according to the County of San Mateo. California law gives judges discretion to grant own-recognizance release based on an assessment of public safety risk and a defendant's ties to the community.
Steve Wagstaffe has served as San Mateo County's District Attorney since 2011, overseeing felony prosecutions and public disclosures on cases like this one, per the Palo Alto Daily Post. It remains unclear whether Valdivia's defense will pursue a mental health evaluation given her reported statements at the scene, and the identity and relationship of the passenger who was allegedly locked inside the car has not been disclosed.
