A 6-year-old girl was abducted and briefly held captive last week at a Miami apartment complex but managed to get away by biting her attacker’s arm, authorities said.
The girl was allegedly kidnapped Thursday as she was in the complex’s courtyard with siblings when they noticed a white SUV parked near the apartment, according to an arrest affidavit obtained Tuesday by NBC News.
The 6-year-old stayed outside while others went inside, and that's when she was grabbed, the affidavit said.
“She stated that she was suddenly grabbed by the arm … and pulled toward the rear of the stairs. The victim began to fight back and pulled away from the defendant. The defendant then picked up the victim and began to carry her away,” according to the affidavit.
“The victim bit the defendant on the arm causing him to drop her. The defendant slapped the victim and ran away towards the front of the apartment complex," the affidavit said. "The victim ran around the building towards the front to tell her aunt what had just occurred.”
Leonardo Venegas, 32, of Miami, was later identified as the suspect, and police said he was arrested on charges of kidnapping and child abuse causing no great bodily harm.
Venegas was arrested Saturday, according to the affidavit and Miami-Dade jail records. Venegas was still in jail Tuesday.
He was held on no bond on the kidnapping charge and was also placed on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, jail records showed.
A public defender listed as his attorney in online records couldn't immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The child's mother couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
The alleged victim, Ah’lyric, told NBC Miami: “I bit him.” She said she learned the self-defense tactic from her mother.
Her mom, Teshia McGill, told NBC Miami: “I’m glad she knew how to fight back.”
According to the affidavit, security cameras captured a white Range Rover parked near the apartment complex shortly before the child was grabbed. Venegas is seen on camera walking toward the rear of the complex. Shortly afterward, he is seen on camera running toward the parking lot. The Range Rover is then seen leaving the apartment complex.
The girl identified her attacker through images captured on video, the affidavit said.
Police were able to identify the Range Rover through security cameras that captured the license plate.
Police found the Range Rover on Saturday, and Venegas agreed to speak to investigators in a taped interview, the affidavit said.
It said that he told investigators he was the driver of the Range Rover in question and that he also placed himself near the scene of the abduction but that he said he was there “looking for houses to buy."
The affidavit said, however, that the complex is Department of Housing and Urban Development-supported housing and that there are no for sale signs. Venegas also identified himself as the man seen in the security video walking in the apartment complex, and he said he ran away when he heard someone screaming, the affidavit said.
Venegas invoked his right to an attorney, the affidavit said, when investigators asked him about his interaction with the 6-year-old girl.