When an immigrant tried to snatch a 6-year-old girl from her home, he got taught a painful lesson. In fact, his would-be victim bravely escaped the terrifying attempted abduction by literally taking a bite out of crime and bringing the alleged kidnapping to an abrupt halt.
Leonardo Venegas, a 32-year-old “white Hispanic” immigrant residing in Miami, likely thought he had spotted an easy target when he saw a 6-year-old girl sitting alone on some stairs outside her home. However, when he tried to abduct the child, he soon realized that he had bitten off more than he could chew when the girl literally took a bite out of him, bravely thwarting her own abduction.
According to NBC News, the would-be victim, who’s been identified only as “Ah’lyric,” had been playing with her siblings in the courtyard of their apartment complex when they noticed a white SUV parked nearby. When the other children went inside to get a drink of water, the victim remained on the rear stairway of their apartment complex. That’s when Venegas allegedly made his move, grabbing Ah’lyric.
“She stated that she was suddenly grabbed by the arm,” an arrest affidavit stated, adding that Ah’lyric was “pulled toward the rear of the stairs.” However, according to the affidavit, Ah’lyric refused to go down without a fight. Instead, she “began to fight back and pulled away from the defendant,” who “then picked up the victim and began to carry her away.”
That’s when Ah’lyric decided to take matters into her own hands and teeth, biting Leonardo Venegas. “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.”
“He grabbed me, picked me up, and started running with me and I bit him and then he slapped me and threw me to the floor and started running to his car,” said Ah’Lyric.
After authorities were notified, security camera footage was reviewed. It had captured a white Range Rover parked near the apartment complex shortly before Ah’lyric was grabbed. Leonardo Venegas was also seen on camera as he walked toward the rear of the apartment complex shortly before being seen on camera again as he ran toward the parking lot. After that, the Range Rover was seen leaving.
“A white Hispanic male grabbed her by the arm, picked her up against her will, and attempted to flee the scene with her,” said Officer Kiara Delva with the Miami Police Department. “Fortunate enough, that 6-year-old brave little girl fought for her life she even bit the subject forcing him to drop her and let her go.”
Thanks to the images captured in the video footage, Ah’lyric was able to identify her attacker and police were also able to identify the Range Rover by its license plate. Two days after the alleged incident, police found the Range Rover, which led them to Venegas, who agreed to speak to investigators in a taped interview.
During the interview, Venegas admitted to being the driver of the Range Rover and placed himself at the scene, saying he was the man in the security video walking into the apartment complex. He alleged that he was there “looking for houses to buy,” but this made very little sense since the apartment complex is Department of Housing and Urban Development-supported housing and there were no for sale signs.
When asked why he was seen running in the footage that he admitted had captured him, Venegas said he began running away after he heard someone screaming. When investigators then asked about his interaction with the 6-year-old girl, he invoked his right to an attorney. However, it was too little too late.
After being identified as the suspect, Leonardo Venegas was arrested on charges of kidnapping and child abuse causing no great bodily harm. He was ordered held on no bond on the kidnapping charge and was also placed on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold, according to Miami-Dade jail records.
Although the brave girl managed to bite her way out of the abduction, the incident still left her family shaken, her mom said. However, Teshia McGill also relayed that she is proud of her daughter for defending herself as Ah’lyric credited her mom for teaching her the self-defense tactic.
“Many kids don’t know how to defend themselves, so I’m actually happy she was able to defend herself,” Teshia said.
In response to the incident, Miami Police Captain Freddie Cruz issued a warning, urging children and especially their parents to be vigilant because you never know when danger will darken your doorstep or how quickly it might occur.
“If you’re going to be playing outside, which is a wonderful thing, please, try to play in groups, try to have an adult present, some sort of supervision,” Captain Cruz advised, adding, “Know where your children (are), or if you’re a guardian, know where they are at. Just protect your kids and look over them, keep a close eye on them, cause anything can happen in the blink of an eye.”
Indeed, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If parents remain watchful while also teaching their children to be cautious as well as what to do in such a situation, the monsters who prey on our children won’t get far.
