A man who grabbed a 3-year-old girl at North Auburn’s Regional Park Saturday has been arrested, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident started around 7 p.m. when a group of boys playing basketball said Yonel Hernandez-Velasco, 26, of Auburn, asked them twice if he could buy their basketball. He also allegedly told the boys he could handcuff one of them and drag them into the pond while showing them the handcuffs.
After the boys told him to go away, Hernandez-Velasco wandered up to a 3-year-old girl, who was in the park with her family. The Auburn man grabbed the girl’s hand and started skipping through the grass, authorities said.
The girl’s mother and boyfriend were with their dog nearby when the boyfriend confronted Hernandez-Velasco and told him to let go of the girl.
However, as Hernandez-Velasco began acting aggressively toward the boyfriend, the girl’s father ran up from an apartment nearby. Hernandez-Velasco proceeded to pull the handcuffs from his pocket and wrapped them around his hand before charging toward the father, who punched him in the face, officials said.
Hernandez-Velasco fell to the ground after a second punch and remained there until deputies arrived. He was transported to the hospital for medical clearance and then taken to the Auburn Jail.
Hernandez-Velasco was booked on charges of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted kidnapping. He remains in custody and his bail is set at $1.2 million.
