A 43-year-old homeless man has been charged with trying to abduct a 12-year-old girl from a car parked outside a Gainesville grocery store, the Gainesville Times reports.
Francisco Deleon-Ruiz, an alleged illegal immigrant, was charged with attempted kidnapping and being a pedestrian under the influence in connection with the Saturday evening incident.
The child was sitting in a car outside Meeks Grocery on Atlanta Highway, according to the Hall County Sheriff's office. The girl's mother was in the store shopping at the time.
The girl told police that a man came up to the car and started talking to her. He then allegedly reached in, grabbed her by the arm and tried to pull her from the vehicle. She struggled, and the man gave up and walked away, authorities said.
The girl, who was not injured, went into the store and told her mother what happened, and the woman called 911. Sheriff's deputies said they found Deleon-Ruiz walking nearby and arrested him.
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