A 43-year-old Homestead man is facing a felony charge after attempting to kidnap a girl while she was walking her dog Friday morning, according to police.
According to a Homestead Police Department arrest report, the 13-year-old was walking her dog on Southwest Fourth Street near Krome Avenue shortly after 7 a.m. when she came across a Chevrolet Tahoe driven by a guy later identified as Michael Luprecio.
According to authorities, Luprecio pulled into the girl’s driveway, opened the SUV’s hood, and looked under it.
As the girl proceeded passed Luprecio to her front door, the report claims that he “aggressively lunged at her, grabbing her by her right wrist and lower buttocks, catching (her) by surprise.”
“The victim stated (Luprecio) forcibly pulled her towards him against her will, gripping her wrist, attempting to pull her near his vehicle,” according to the police report. “The victim stated she screamed in fear for her life and was able to break away and ran inside of her home to call the police.”
The youngster, speaking with her mother’s permission, described what had transpired.
“All of a sudden he tried to grab me and I pushed him and I screamed at him and he grabbed my lower bottom and I was so shocked,” said the woman. “I just ran to my house.”
According to police, Luprecio then fled. According to the report, the incident was filmed on a nearby business surveillance camera.
Police said they followed the Tahoe down to Luprecio’s house in the 1200 block of Northwest Ninth Street and performed a stakeout, pulling him over for a concealed tag after he got into the car and drove away.
According to the report, Luprecio told officers he “admitted to seeing the victim walking her dog and decided to pull over nearby to check a noise coming from his engine” and said he “startled” her by “aggressively” closing the hood.
“I don’t feel safe anymore,” she told Local 10 News. “As long as I have my mom and my dad, I feel more safer with them.”
Police removed an additional statement from the report.
Luprecio was taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and charged with attempted child kidnapping and violence.
He asked a Miami-Dade judge for his release on Monday, citing health conditions such as cancer.
However, the judge denied him bond. Police say they are investigating Luprecio’s background.
“In these cases, there’s always the possibility that this has been done in the past,” said Capt. Fernando Morales, an HPD spokesperson. “With such ease that he did this, it just gives us a little bit of concern.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact HPD.
“I can just imagine him doing that to other women, other girls,” she stated.