GREENVILLE, S.C. —
Deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office have arrested 56 year-old Jose Jesus Navarrette for kidnapping after an investigation showed he tried to take a young child from her grandmother, according to Lt. Ryan Flood.
Flood said deputies responded about 2:45 p.m. Sunday to the Goodwill on Blue Ridge Drive in Greenville.
He said they had gotten a report of an attempted abduction.
When deputies arrived. they took Navarrette into custody.
During the course of investigation deputies learned that before getting the 911 call, the child’s grandmother was walking with the victim and her other grandchildren on the sidewalk outside the store.
Flood said the grandmother bent down to help one of the kids with their shoe and as she looked up, she saw Navarrette grabbing one of her granddaughters and then picking the child up and walking away with her.
The grandmother quickly approached Navarrette and was able to pull her grandchild back into her arms, Flood said. He said the grandmother pushed Navarrette away before taking all of the children inside the Goodwill to get away from him.
After noticing the suspect was following them, the grandmother called for help, Flood said. As the grandmother walked behind the counter to get away from the man, she noticed he was still following her and actually came towards her behind the counter, according to Flood.
She was soon able to get help from a store employee and another customer, and 911 was called.