UPDATED STORY
WACO, Texas — A Waco man is in custody after trying to snatch a 10-year-old girl from a parking lot and force her into his vehicle, police said.
Jimmy Don Rich, 60, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service around noon on Friday after police say federal authorities were there to arrest him for an unrelated aggravated kidnapping case in Leon County.
Police said he asked the girl if she wanted to come into his vehicle and "see his cat." Rich then tried to grab the child's hand in a parking lot in the 4600 block of Franklin Ave.
A project manager at Hensel Electric Company told 25 News Rich was taken into custody by the marshals after having a confrontation with several employees.
They said Rich had worked at the company for at least 30 years and had been fired two weeks prior.
He had been spiraling out of control for quite some time, the manager said. He was also known to be an avid firearms collector and would often sell his weapons to make quick cash.
In fact, the manager said that’s exactly why Rich drove back to the business after the attempted kidnapping.
They said the U.S. Marshals Service contacted them Thursday night and said Rich might show up to sell a firearm on Friday.
Employees at a PetSmart where Rich attempted to kidnap the girl told 25 News that a store manager saw the young girl flee from him and called Waco police.
Both law enforcement agencies were unaware of Rich had allegedly committed both crimes.
Rich is being held in the McLennan County jail on bonds totaling a million dollars for the two charges.
ORIGINAL STORY
60-year-old Jimmy Rich was arrested at around 12 p.m. on Friday after he attempted to kidnap a 10-year-old girl, according to the Waco Police Department.
Police were called to a business near the 4600 Block of Franklin Avenue, where Rich was trying to coerce the child into coming to his car to see his cat and purchase the animal.
Rich then tried to grab the child's hand, the child "immediately refused", and the store manager saw the interaction and called Waco police.
Rich fled the business, but was caught and arrested by the US Marshal’s Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, as the Marshal Service had a previous, non-related warrant for aggravated kidnapping.
"The Waco Police Department would like to remind parents to speak to their children about the dangers of talking to someone they do not know. In this case the child responded exactly how she should have, and with the help of everyone involved, Rich is now in custody at the McLennan County Jail," police said.
Waco police will charge Rich with another case of attempted kidnapping regarding this incident.
