Due to a paperwork error, the suspected Sequoia High School kidnapper was released days before the incident

Just two days before 24-year-old Trey Von Duus attempted to kidnap a Sequoia High School student, he was arrested for trespassing at a mall and approaching children and released on honor because the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office was unaware of a previous felony conviction in Santa Barbara.

On Tuesday, July 16, Duus was arrested at 118 Old County Road in Brisbane for trespassing when staff saw him approaching children, prosecutors said. Two days earlier, he had been issued a permit to stay at the establishment for harassing customers, which he had breached.

According to a court transcript obtained by this news organization, prosecutors did not request bail or speak during the July 17 arraignment. Judge Cristina Mazzei even interrupted Duus when he offered to pay bail and instead released him without conditions.

This despite the fact that Duus had been on probation since an incident in Santa Barbara County. He was accused of breaking into a fire officer’s home, rummaging through his belongings and even wearing his clothes.

According to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, he pleaded guilty to burglary and violating his probation on July 10. He was ordered to undergo the Jericho Project Residential Treatment Program in Brisbane for substance abuse and to continue his probation until 2026.

According to the project’s website, the program lasts at least six months, meaning Duus was likely in it during both alleged crimes.

The commission of the crime he is charged with on July 16 constitutes a violation of his probation.

According to Sean Gallagher, San Mateo County’s deputy district attorney, the reason Duus was released after his trespassing and approaching children may be because no one knew about his previous conviction.

“This case does not appear on his criminal record,” Gallagher said, trying to find out if the office knew about the Santa Barbara case.

“It seems that the lawyer who was in court that day knew nothing about it, only that something was going on in Santa Barbara.”

The California Attorney General’s office maintains the criminal records of the state’s residents, but Gallagher suspects Duus’s file has not yet been updated.

“I suspect the documents had not been updated and were stuck in Sacramento,” he said.

The attorney general’s office was not immediately available for comment.

During his arraignment on the kidnapping charge on Monday, July 22, Duus’ public defender appeared to say he had no criminal record prior to the trespassing. However, prosecutors in Santa Barbara are now aware of the case.

Duus’ bail was set at $150,000.

Gallagher said, “This is truly troubling behavior,” and during the July 22 arraignment, Mazzei said, “I consider the defendant to be a threat to public safety.”

As Mazzei read his kidnapping charge, Duus appeared to admit to the crime, shouting, “That’s not true. I was drunk… I took a shot in the hospital.” It is unclear whether or not police tested his blood alcohol level.

New details about the kidnapping attempt

During the arraignment on Monday, more information about the attempted kidnapping on July 18 came to light.

Duus is said to have told the 16-year-old student, whom he grabbed by the shirt, that he was from the police as he dragged him out of the classroom and told the teacher: “I have to take him with me.”

The 16-year-old student, who spoke little English, did not know Duus, according to the prosecutor. His motive for taking the student with him and committing trespassing remains unclear.

Duus is said to have said at some point: “I have a gun with me in case I need to take someone with me.”

The police did not find a weapon on him, but they did find a knife, which he pointed at a janitor and said: “This is not for you. You have other problems.”

Santa Barbara court records show that an arrest warrant was issued for Duus on July 19.

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