LOS ANGELES
A man has been charged with attempting to take a girl from her blind father outside their home last month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced today.
Elijah John Lopez, 24, was charged with one count of attempted kidnapping.
The case was filed on September 4 and he has pleaded not guilty to the charge. A preliminary hearing is set for September 18 in Department 31 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
On August 18, the girl and her father were aboard a Blue Line train headed to their home in Huntington Park. The defendant also was on the train and allegedly followed the father and his daughter once they got off, according to prosecutors.
They then boarded a bus and Lopez continued to follow them. Once they both got off, the defendant allegedly approached them outside their home and grabbed the girl and tried to pull her away from her father, officials stated.
The defendant and father struggled and witnesses came to the girl’s aid. Lopez fled the scene and was arrested later in San Diego.
If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of 23 years in state prison.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.