Woman Arrested, Suspected Of Trying To Kidnap 2 Children In Separate Incidents
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A woman has been arrested on suspicion of trying to kidnap two children in different areas of Los Angeles.
Maralyn Ramos, 33, was arrested at Agatha and San Pedro streets late Wednesday night, less than a mile from the McDonalds where the first boy was nearly kidnapped. She has been booked on suspicion of attempted kidnapping and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Police say they believe Ramos is the same woman who tried to kidnap two children in full view of their adult caretakers over two days – one child from a McDonald's restaurant in downtown, another from near an intersection in South LA.
Tuesday's attempt at the McDonald's was captured on surveillance video and showed the woman in a light-colored top with spaghetti straps, torn black jeans and black flip flops with white straps walking into the restaurant, picking up the 4-year-old boy and walking back out without hesitation.
Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez says she was stopped by a witness who saw her trying to put the boy in a vehicle. She then put the boy down and ran away, police said.
The second attempt happened Wednesday at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and San Pedro Street. The woman had taken a boy's hand at the corner and said "come with me" in Spanish, before the child's relative stopped them.
