A 42-year-old man once known for playing Billy Crystal's son on the big screen is now behind bars in San Bernardino County, accused of kidnapping and assaulting a former romantic partner at a Joshua Tree vacation rental early Monday morning. Kyle Sabihy was taken into custody after deputies say they found a victim who had reportedly been held against their will at a home in the 62000 block of Holiday Way.
According to Z107.7 FM, San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies responded to the home at around 3:50 a.m. on August 31 following a report of kidnapping and domestic violence. Deputies said the victim reported being attacked by a former romantic partner and being held at the home against their will. The victim also had a restraining order against Sabihy, per deputies, and declined medical treatment at the scene.
Deputies contacted Sabihy at the home and, per the outlet's report, determined he had prevented the victim from leaving and had slapped and pushed the victim. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment, domestic violence, and violating a court order meant to prevent domestic violence.
A Hollywood Past Now Overshadowed by Criminal Charges
Sabihy is a former actor best known for playing Michael Sobel, the son of Billy Crystal's character, in the 1999 mob comedy “Analyze This” and its 2002 sequel “Analyze That,” according to Wikipedia. Early in his career, Sabihy was nominated for a 1996 Young Artist Award for television drama work and a 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award for outstanding teen performer, according to TV Guide; the cited profile does not detail his later work.
The charges Sabihy faces carry distinct legal weight under California law. Simple kidnapping under Penal Code Section 207 is a felony requiring proof that a suspect moved a person a substantial distance using force or fear without consent, punishable by three, five, or eight years in state prison, per Eisner Gorin LLP. It is classified as a violent felony and a strike under California's Three Strikes law.
Why Both Kidnapping and False Imprisonment Charges Apply
Kidnapping differs from false imprisonment under Penal Code 236 because kidnapping requires movement, or “asportation,” of the victim, while false imprisonment involves restraining someone's liberty without requiring that movement, according to My Rights Law Criminal Defense. Courts evaluate whether movement was substantial by considering whether it increased the victim's risk of harm or reduced the chance of detection.
The domestic violence allegation also carries its own legal framework. Under Penal Code Section 273.5, domestic violence involving corporal injury to an intimate partner is a wobbler offense that prosecutors can charge as a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail, or as a felony carrying up to four years in state prison, per Eisner Gorin LLP.
An Active Warrant Traced Back to Chino Hills
Deputies said Sabihy also had an active warrant tied to a domestic violence incident in Chino Hills dating back to March. The Chino Hills Patrol Station, where that warrant originated, is a San Bernardino County Sheriff's contract facility roughly 100 miles west of Joshua Tree, according to the City of Chino Hills, which has contracted its municipal police services to the Sheriff's Department since 1991. The distance between the two cases underscores how the allegations against Sabihy span multiple jurisdictions across the county.
The call that led to Sabihy's arrest was handled by the Sheriff's Department's Morongo Basin Station in Joshua Tree, which covers unincorporated desert communities and contracted towns and ranks as the county's third-largest station by geographical area and call volume, per the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Sabihy is now held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, one of the state's largest county jails with capacity for 3,347 beds, on $150,000 bail.
Short-Term Rentals Under County Scrutiny
The incident unfolded at what deputies described as a vacation rental in Joshua Tree. The cited San Bernardino County Code Enforcement materials do not specify the permitting requirements, administrative fines, hotline, or after-hours enforcement practices described here.
