WEST VALINDA — Deputies arrested a driver for allegedly trying to kidnap a 16-year-old girl near a continuation school Thursday.
The incident was reported at 5:12 p.m. Thursday in the 900 block of Willow Avenue.
Lt. Arthur Scott of the sheriff’s Industry station said the teen was in front of Nueva Vista Continuation High School when a man in a Honda Civic pulled up.
Scott said the man asked if the teen needed a ride. She refused the offer.
“He got out of the car, opened the passenger door, told her to get in,” the lieutenant said.
The teen told the driver, “No.” The man then took a step toward the girl and tried to grab her arm, according to Scott.
The teen ran.
Scott said a relative of the girl confronted the driver as the man drove away. The suspect apologized, he added.
Brandon Sandoval, 21, was arrested late Thursday night in West Covina on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, Detective Alfredo Gomez said.
The West Covina man is being held at the sheriff’s Industry station jail on a $130,000 bail. Sandoval will be arraigned Tuesday at El Monte Superior Court.