Disturbing surveillance video shows the moment a man allegedly tried to kidnap a 4-year-old boy at a Florida Walmart, but the suspect’s wife claimed he was just “joking.”
Footage recorded Friday at the Lehigh Acres store shows the alleged kidnapper, later identified as Pablo Pintueles Hernandez, 64, walking toward the boy, who was shopping with his family, and grabbing him by the wrist.
Hernandez allegedly told the boy “let’s go” before trying to take him away, but the boy’s relatives quickly intervened and pulled him away from the suspect, authorities said.
Hernandez, who was with his wife, left the store to finish his shopping.
“Deputies worked tirelessly alongside our Real Time Intelligence Center analysts to identify the suspect,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office stated. “Together, analysts and agents used advanced technology to quickly identify and locate Pintueles Hernández.”
An hour after the foiled kidnapping, officers arrived at Hernandez’s home and arrested him on a charge of false imprisonment of a child 13 years of age or younger.
A screenshot of surveillance video recorded at the Walmart in Leigh Acres, Florida, on December 29 shows Pablo Pintueles Hernández grabbing a 4-year-old boy by the wrist. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
“What this criminal did is incredibly disturbing,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “I don’t want anyone in Lee County to feel unsafe, especially if he goes shopping.”
“My team will stop at NOTHING to ensure that criminals like this face the consequences of their actions,” he added.
According to an arrest report obtained by The Post, the 4-year-old boy was at Walmart with his mother and two sisters when Hernandez approached him and grabbed his wrist.
Hernandez was shopping at Walmart with his wife and left after the attempted kidnapping. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
It was one of the boy’s sisters who intervened and took her brother away from the suspect. She later told police that she was “afraid” for the boy’s safety.
Hernandez’s wife, Odalis Vaillant Leyva, who was with him, told agents that her husband is “outgoing and frequently jokes with the children, calling them ‘Papito.’ Leyva has warned her husband against these interactions because other people do not interpret the interactions the same way he does,” the report states.
When interviewed by an officer, Hernandez allegedly confirmed that he grabbed the child’s wrist and the child began walking away with him, before his sister “became angry and grabbed the child’s other arm,” the report states.
Sheriff’s deputies located the 64-year-old man an hour after the incident. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Leyva told the boy’s sister that her husband “was joking” before the couple left.
“Hernández explained that this is part of his personality; “she likes interacting with children and has done similar things on previous occasions,” the report says. “Hernández stated that he had no intention of leaving with the child.”
Hernandez was released from jail on New Year’s Eve after posting $100,000 bail. He is due back in court on January 29.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn