A 47-year-old Portola Springs man was taken into custody at his home on Monday, June 19, 2017, at around 4:30 p.m. He is suspected of having assaulted and attempted to kidnap a 20-year-old associate at an Irvine baby boutique over the weekend.
The young woman was working alone at the Woodbury Town Center location of Mon Beau Bebe this past Saturday evening at around 7:20 p.m. when the man is alleged to have entered the store. The police report reflects that the associate said that the man initially acted like any other typical customer as he entered and began browsing its collection.
Everything changed, however, once the woman turned away from the customer to return to handling other store tasks. When she did, the man grabbed her hair and proceeded to drag her in the direction of the boutique’s storage room.
Officers with the Irvine Police Department report that surveillance footage taken at the store shows the woman fighting with the man in the storage room as he holds her by the hair. It was reported that the man only let go of her once she told him there were cameras filming him in the store. It’s then that he fled on foot.
Police report that it’s unclear what motivated the man to assault the woman. They did, however, announce that the attempted kidnapping charge stemmed from the fact that the man decided to forcibly move the store associate from once location in the store to a different once against her will. Police contend that the man was captured after tips from the community led them to identify him.
As if the count for assault were not bad enough, the fact that the crime was allegedly accompanied by an attempted kidnapping charge makes things much worse for the defendant. It’s unclear what type sentence he may be facing if convicted on these charges.
If working with an Orange County criminal defense attorney, it’s possible that anyone facing similar charges may ultimately be able to negotiate a plea deal to avoid going to trial.
Source: Next Shark, “Man arrested in Orange County for assault, attempted kidnapping of female store employee,” Carl Samson, June 20, 2017