A 23-year-old Michigan man was arrested after he allegedly attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old girl an hour after he failed to abduct a 15-year-old girl in another town.
Endi Bala, 23, was arrested Thursday and charged with offenses including attempted unlawful imprisonment after bystanders intervened to stop him from kidnapping two girls in separate instances, the Macomb County prosecutor announced.
Prosecutors alleged that Bala first attempted to abduct a 15-year-old on Tuesday while she was walking down a street in Clinton Township.
The teen recalled the frighting incident in an interview with WXYZ-TV in Detroit. Speaking with her mother by her side, she told the ABC station that she knew something was wrong when a car drove past her, then made a U-turn to stop next to her.
The teen told the station that the driver asked if he could take her home, then grabbed her wrist and threatened her after she rejected his offer twice. Paul Billiter, a bystander, told WXYZ he stepped in and asked the girl if she wanted to go with the man after watching him push her head into his car door.
“So I yanked him out, and I held him there and I told him, ‘Hey, you. You’re not going nowhere with this girl,’” Billiter told the station.
Billiter told the station that neighbors got involved after hearing the disturbance, and the driver fled after Billiter got a picture of the car’s license plate.
A bystander's truck is seen blocking a car after the driver tried to take off with a 7-year-old in Sterling Heights, Michigan, the police department said.
Prosecutors said that about an hour later, the same driver approached a 7-year-old girl who was riding her bicycle in Sterling Heights.
Surveillance footage released by local police shows a man they identified as Bala grabbing the girl and placing her into his car before attempting to leave the area. Prosecutors said another bystander intervened, using his truck to block the car from driving off.
The video then shows the girl’s aunt running toward the car’s driver’s side window and reaching in to grab the steering wheel to prevent him from leaving.
“The aunt immediately just completely went into warrior mode,” Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski told WDIV-TV in Detroit. “That aunt jumps in the passenger side of the car and starts fighting with the suspect as he’s trying to drive the car forwards and backwards to shake her out of the car.”
The driver of the truck, whom police identified as Scott VanLuven, told WDIV he pulled the driver out of the car and held him against the vehicle until police arrived.
“I’m definitely still trying to process what happened. It’s something you don’t see every day,” VanLuven told WDIV. “I just feel for the family. I’m glad I was there to help.”
Bala pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Thursday and was granted a court-appointed attorney.
Prosecutors said Bala was denied bond and was jailed in connection with the incident involving the 7-year-old. He was also ordered to have a mental health evaluation in connection with the Clinton Township incident.
Bala is scheduled for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 27 and Aug. 28, prosecutors said.
“As a community, we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the courageous Good Samaritans who stepped in without hesitation, risking their own safety to save these young girls,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement. “Their quick actions not only thwarted a crime but also ensured that these brave girls were able to return home safely.”
Local Detroit, MI
Most Popular
Comments / 0