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Woman Charged With Trying to Kidnap Joe Montana's 9-Month-Old Granddaughter Pleads Not Guilty

VAN NUYS (CBSLA)Felony charges were filed Tuesday against a woman who allegedly tried to kidnap NFL legend Joe Montana's 9-month-old granddaughter from a Malibu home.

joe montana kidnapping suspect arrest
A woman is taken into custody after allegedly breaking into the Malibu, Calif., home of Joe Montana and trying to kidnap his granddaughter. Sept. 26, 2020. (CBSLA)

Sodsai Predpring Dalzell, 39, pleaded not guilty to one count each of attempted kidnapping of a child under 14 and first-degree residential burglary with a person present, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The judge set her bail at $200,000, saying the suspect is a danger to the community and a protective order was also issued against her.

Dalzell was arrested Saturday after Montana flagged down a few Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies around 5 p.m. and reported the woman had walked into their home along Pacific Coast Highway and took the baby from a playpen.

Montana said the woman had walked into the home, picked up the baby and held the child in her arms, according to sheriff's officials. The NFL legend and his wife, Jennifer, then confronted her, first trying to "de-escalate the situation" and asked the woman to give the baby back.

"Mr. Montana and his wife Jennifer confronted the female, attempted to de-escalate the situation and asked for the suspect to give back their grandchild. A tussle ensued, and Mrs. Montana was able to safely pry the child out of the suspect's arms," according to a sheriff's statement.

No one, including the baby, was injured in the incident.

Deputies found Dalzell nearby and arrested her. Cell phone video taken from across PCH showed Dalzell being arrested.

Investigators said that Dalzell is not a friend of the family, nor does she know them, which has detectives puzzled as to what led her to the couple's home in the first place.

"Clearly this seems to be some type of incident that was probably onset by some type of depression or maybe drugs or something like that," Ayinde Jones, Dalzell's attorney, said.

The 64-year-old Montana tweeted about the incident Sunday afternoon, saying, "Thank you to everyone who has reached out. Scary situation, but thankful that everybody is doing well. We appreciate respect for our privacy at this time."

A preliminary court date was set for Oct. 20 at 8:30 a.m.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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