Citizen Saves Child From Attempted Abduction, Driver Charged: Police

STICKNEY TOWNSHIP, IL — A Chicago man is accused of attempting to lure a child to his vehicle Monday afternoon in unincorporated Stickney Township. Arley Carrillo Mendez, 39, was charged with one count of child abduction and luring of a minor, a Class 4 felony.

Around 4:40 p.m. Monday, Cook County Sheriff’s Police responded to an incident in the 4900 block of South Laramie Avenue, reporting a man, later identified as Mendez, trying to lure a child to his vehicle after school, police said.

A witness told police she saw Mendez following a child in a silver SUV and calling the child to his vehicle. He drove off after the witness intervened by yelling and beeping her car horn at him, police said.

Officers met up with the child and learned that while walking home from school, Mendez drove up the curb and followed her for approximately one block, police said. The girl told officers that the driver of the vehicle would not leave and kept following her.

Mendez was identified and arrested on suspicion of child luring at his home without incident. He appeared for a pre-trial hearing Wednesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse, where a judge ordered him to the sheriff’s electronic monitoring program. No additional court information was available.