Man suspected in two attempted kidnappings near Mission Valley mall
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The suspect arrested following Tuesday’s attempted kidnapping near Mission Valley mall is now suspected in a second attempt in the area, San Diego police said Friday.
Rene Lujan, 42, is facing two felony kidnapping counts, according to the San Diego County Sheriff Department’s jail log.
On Thursday, police arrested Lujan on suspicion of attempting to kidnap a six-year-old girl two days earlier near Buffalo Wild Wings on Camino Del Rio North. Police say around 1:30 p.m., the child was walking alongside her mother, pushing her younger sibling in a stroller, when a man grabbed her. He carried the girl a short distance before she started screaming, at which time he let her go and took off through the mall, police said. Police were able to obtain a description and license plate number of the car the suspect drove away in.
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Then on Thursday, police say a second kidnapping attempt happened around 2 p.m., this time near an inflatable kid play area in the mall parking lot. Police say a man attempted to carry a five-year-old girl and put her into a vehicle.
A short time later, the police department’s Automated License Plate Reader system detected the suspected vehicle downtown San Diego. Police then located Rene Lujan, 42, on state Route 94 near Home Avenue, and took him into custody.
When police announced the arrest Thursday evening, the department was still working to determine whether the second attempt was connected. But Friday afternoon, police said, “through the investigation, SDPD was able to connect the suspect to that incident as well.”
Lujan will be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon in a downtown courtroom. He is being held without bail.
Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the department’s Eastern Division at 858-495-7900 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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