A 25-year-old man and his estranged wife are charged with attempting to kidnap one or two young girls from a school bus stop in Cornelius.
Police say they were alerted by suspicious parents who reported a man in a car with tinted windows taking pictures at a school bus stop.
On Tuesday, detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested Ruben Garcia Rosario for driving without a license and carrying a concealed weapon.
After he was interrogated, he told police that he and his estranged wife, Linda Gonzalez, 21, were plotting to kidnap at least one of the young girls, police said. Police say one of the suspects told them Rosario intended to hold the girl for ransom.
Rosario was in Mecklenburg Jail under $32,000 bond. But because he is an illegal immigrant, federal authorities have put a hold on him, preventing him from being released. He is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping and two counts of attempted first-degree kidnapping.
Gonzales was arrested in Edinburg, Texas. She is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping.
Officers say Rosario knew the girl, but haven't said how.
"We believe this is an isolated incident. This was targeting... one family," said Capt. Paul Zinkann with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.
Parents originally called police in early September, saying a man was at the bus stop in Cornelius early one morning, said Maj. David King with the Cornelius Department. The parents provided a description of the car, but it left before police could get there.
On Sept. 22, they got another call from parents. This one said the man taking pictures was back, and this time they had a license number.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement