A man tried to kidnap a little girl in front of her home and in front of her dad
A Visalia man was arrested for an attempted kidnapping, and he wasn’t very slick in his approach.
Derrek Porter, 24, nabbed a 4-year-old girl directly in front of her home Tuesday – with her father right there – and tried to take off.
Porter had gotten into a fight with the child’s father moments before grabbing the little girl, who had come out of a car upon seeing her dad get into the scuffle, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect was completely unknown to the victims, the sheriff’s office said.
Yet Porter told deputies that the 4-year-old was not the victim’s daughter, the sheriff’s office added.
The little girl’s family managed to get her back after Porter grabbed the child. Porter ran off but deputies responding to the family’s call for help caught him in the neighborhood.
It occurred in the area of Cottontail Street and Lickey Court in Goshen.
The father told deputies the incident started when Porter assaulted him as he was getting out of his car.
Porter was booked at the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Facility.
The case remains under investigation.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 559-733-6218, or can remain anonymous by calling or texting 559-725-4194 or through email at tcso@tipnow.com.
This story was originally published September 5, 2018 at 6:23 PM.