Woman told police she kidnapped child for its own good

A woman arrested in the kidnapping of a toddler and stealing a car Saturday told police she took the child for its own good.

Samantha Campbell, 21, said she thought there was a person hiding in the house of Mistery Barletta, a woman she’d driven home from downtown Las Vegas. Campbell decided to take 22-month-old Anastasia Barletta, Mistery’s daughter, with her, according to North Las Vegas police records.

Campbell fought off Barletta, who works a hostess at the Golden Nugget, while holding the toddler in one hand. Then she stole Barletta’s car and took off, police records said.

Barletta was partying at the Fremont when she met Campbell and Dennis Gentle, 23. The two transients said Barletta was too drunk to drive and offered to drive her home.

Police records said Campbell drove Barletta’s car. On the way, they stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru.

Barletta handed her ATM card to Campbell and gave her the personal identification number to pay for the food. Then they stopped at a convenience store, and Campbell used the card to buy two packs of cigarettes and withdrew $40, police records said.

When they arrived at Barletta’s home in the 4200 block of Oak Bay, near Allen Lane and West Alexander Road, Barletta told them to wait outside.

The police report said Barletta’s mother was watching Anastasia, and she left because she was mad that Barletta was drunk.

Campbell and Gentle were let into the house, and they started stealing things. They took an iPad, makeup, an electric hair straightener, earrings, a necklace, headphones and a black jacket, according to police records.

That’s when police say Campbell noticed Anastasia sleeping in the master bedroom. The report said she became concerned for the child’s safety and “thought it would be prudent” to remove her from the home.

Barletta tried to stop her, but Campbell fended her off, put the child into Barletta’s car and drove off with Gentle.

Police were dispatched to the home about 2:40 a.m. They found Barletta lying on the driveway, bleeding from her mouth and passed out drunk.

Her blood-alcohol level registered at .308 — that’s about four times the legal limit for driving — and though she had mumbled to police about “her daughters,” she wasn’t able to give police any credible leads.

Anastasia’s father, a bartender at the Golden Nugget, was contacted and he rushed home. He told police that his daughter, and his wife’s car, had been stolen.

Shortly afterward, Barletta regained consciousness and was able to tell police what happened. An Amber Alert for Anastasia was issued about 10:50 a.m. Saturday.

About 30 minutes after that, police got a call from a man (his name was redacted in the police records) who said he had the toddler and was standing in front of the North Las Vegas police’s northwest area substation.

He told police that Campbell and Gentle told him and another witness that they had taken the toddler, and he said they needed to turn themselves in.

They carried the child to the police station and identified Campbell and Gentle to police, according to the report.

Police said both confessed to the kidnapping. They were booked into the Las Vegas Detention Center to face charges including kidnapping and auto theft.

Anastasia was returned to her family unharmed.

Court records show that in 2008, Gentle pleaded guilty to a felony misdemeanor charge of coercion force — sexually motivated. However, Barletta and Campbell show no prior arrests.

Review-Journal writer Raven Jackson contributed to this report. Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0391. Find @WesJuhl on Twitter.