MERCER ISLAND, Wash. — A man is charged with attempted kidnapping after trying to lure two children into his vehicle on Mercer Island in early June, police say.
Prosecutors say Mohammad Ajoly, 38, slowed his vehicle down near two young children and attempted to lure them to his car with a stuffed panda. He is charged with two counts of attempted kidnapping.
Court documents say on June 5, officers were called to a home on Mercer Terrace Drive after a man in a black Toyota Prius had tried to lure in her children. The mother of the children told police her 9-year-old son was playing in the street near her house when the driver pulled up and opened his driver's side door. The boy said the man waved and said "hey, I have a panda bear for you; come get it" before the boy ran to tell his mother.
The suspect then attempted to lure the boy's sister, who was further down the street, in the same manner by waving the panda and beckoning for her to come to him. She too ran away and told the mother, who ended up getting a photo of the vehicle before it drove off out of sight, court documents say.
The photo taken by the mother included the license plate, and the description provided by the children matched Ajoly, to whom the black Prius was also registered.
Ajoly was charged on August 6 according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (KCPAO) and a bench warrant was issued by the court on Aug. 15. Bellevue Police arrested Ajoly on August 18, and he remains in custody at the King County Jail.
KCPAO says Ajoly is scheduled for an arraignment on Aug. 29.