Buellton man sentenced after trying to take 2-year-old from grocery store

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A Buellton man who pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment by violence was sentenced to 365 days in jail, but will be out in early June with credit for time served.

William Henderson, 56, was sentenced Thursday in Santa Maria court.

In August 2019 at a Buellton grocery store, Henderson removed a 2-year-old child from a shopping cart and allegedly began walking to the exit of the store. He was stopped by the child's mother and fled. He was arrested the following week.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said they had received multiple calls from locals who said they had bizarre run-ins with Henderson, who is a local business owner in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Henderson will be released from county jail in June when he will be transferred to a residential care center. He also received five years probation with no alcohol use and no firearms.