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 claims he was only “joking.”
Footage captured Friday at a store in Lehigh Acres shows the alleged would-be kidnapper, later identified as Pablo Pintueles Hernandez, 64, walk up to the tot, who was shopping with her family, and grab her wrist.
Hernandez allegedly told the boy to “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, then followed to finish his shopping and left the store.
“Deputies worked tirelessly alongside our Real Time Intelligence Center Analysts to identify the suspect,” the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said. “Together, analysts and deputies used advanced technology to quickly identify and locate Pintueles Hernandez.”
Within an hour of the foiled kidnapping, deputies arrived at Hernandez’s home and arrested him on charges of false imprisonment of a child 13 and under.
A screenshot from surveillance video recorded at the Leigh Acres, Florida, Walmart on December 29 shows Pablo Pintueles Hernandez grabbing the wrist of a 4-year-old boy. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
“What these criminals are doing is very disturbing,” said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “I never want anyone in Lee County to feel unsafe, especially making a simple shopping trip.”
“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 was at Walmart with his mother and two younger sisters when Hernandez approached him and grabbed his wrist.
Hernandez was shopping at Walmart with his wife and left after the botched kidnapping. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
One of the man’s older brothers stepped in and took his brother away from the suspect. She later told police she was “scared” for the toddler’s safety.
Hernandez’s wife, Odalis Vaillant Leyva, who was with him, told deputies that her husband “was difficult to get along with and often joked with the children, calling them ‘Papito.’ Leyva had warned her husband against this interaction because others did not interpret the interaction the same way she did,” the report said.
When interviewed by a deputy, Hernandez allegedly confirmed that he grabbed the boy’s wrist and the boy began to walk away with him, before his sister “became upset and grabbed the boy’s arm,” the report states.
The 64-year-old man was located by sheriff’s deputies within an hour of the incident. Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Leyva told the man’s sister that her husband was “joking” before the couple walked away.
“Hernandez explained this is part of his personality; he likes to interact with children and has done the same on previous occasions,” the report said. “Hernandez stated he had no intention of leaving with the child.”
Hernandez was released from jail on New Year’s Eve after posting a $100,000 bond. He is due back in court on January 29.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
