A 32-year-old man attempted to abduct a 6-year-old Black girl in South Florida, but she foiled his plans by fighting back. According to WPLG, this crime happened in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood around 8 p.m. on July 6.
Police said the victim just finished playing with her siblings when Leonardo Venegas pulled up to her apartment building in his Range Rover Velar. While the girl was sitting on the steps, the suspect got out of his car and grabbed her by the arm.
But the victim, identified as Lyric, wasn't going to let him take her. She initially pulled away from Venegas, who then picked her up and "began to carry her away," authorities said. That's when the girl reportedly attacked him, forcing him to drop her.
“I bit him,” Lyric later told reporters. “He picked me up and then he slapped me. Then he threw me on the floor and started running.”
After the suspect fled the scene, the little girl ran to her aunt to tell her what happened, according to police. Investigators later checked CCTV footage to find Venegas entered the apartment complex. Police detectives arrested him on Saturday (July 8) for kidnapping and child abuse.
Leonardo Venegas. Photo: Miami-Dade Corrections
When questioned by police about why he was in the area, Venegas told cops he was looking for houses to buy in the complex and ran when "he heard someone screaming," an arrest report reads. Officers pointed out there were no for-sale signs in the area, and the complex is HUD housing. The 32-year-old also identified himself as the person in the CCTV footage but invoked his right to an attorney when asked about his encounter with Lyric.
Miami Police Department spokesperson Kiara Delva called Lyric "extremely brave" for fighting back against her would-be kidnapper. Tisha McGill, Lyric's mother, told WPLG she taught her child to protect herself, especially against strangers.
“You have to teach your kids not to speak to strangers and protect themselves even when you’re not around,” McGill said.
Venegas is currently being held without bond in the Metro West Detention Center, according to records. He's also on an immigration hold.
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