MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Surveillance video shows parents fighting off a 26-year-old man who tried to kidnap their 4-year-old son from a store on Thursday in Miami Beach, according to police.
It was about 11:55 a.m. A mother was walking out of the CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Collins Avenue and 74 Street in the city’s North Beach area.
Her son and her husband walked behind her.
The video shows a man who police officers identified as Nicolas Sternaman walking into the store, and quickly turning and bending down to grab the boy by the neck.
Sternaman lifted the child off the ground and turned to face the store’s door to leave when the father pounced on him and grabbed him until he let go of the boy, according to the arrest report.
The mother turned to hit the man. The boy fell on his back, but he wasn’t injured. His mother quickly picked him up and held him. Police officers reported he was frightened.
Sternaman ran away leaving his jacket behind. Police officers reported arresting him along Harding Avenue near 71st Street, and reported his permanent address as 1000 West Ave., PH32, according to the arrest form.
According to Attorney David H. Pollack, who represents Mirador 1000 Condominium Association, Sternaman is neither a resident nor an owner of any unit at the Mirador 1000 in South Beach.
Video shows suspect’s arrest:
Sternaman was facing felony charges of aggravated child abuse and battery.
Miami Beach police officers had arrested Sternaman for petit theft on Jan. 3 and he was released on a $150 bond, according to Miami-Dade County court records. His status hearing was at 8:30 a.m., on Thursday and his trial for the pending misdemeanor case was April 1.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.