Left: Juan Marcos Perez (Orange County Jail). Right: Perez before he allegedly tried to kidnap a woman in a Walmart parking lot in Orlando, Florida. (Orlando Police Department)
Police in Orlando, Florida, arrested a man wearing an ankle monitor who allegedly tried to kidnap a woman in a Walmart parking lot.
Officers with the Orlando Police Department responded around 4:30 p.m. Monday to a Walmart on South Goldenrod Road near Market Place Drive for an armed robbery and attempted kidnapping. Police say the suspect, 54-year-old Juan Marcos Perez, was pacing the parking lot before approaching the victim. Perez pulled out a knife and held it to the woman’s throat before forcing her into the trunk of her car, according to cops.
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According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by local Fox affiliate WOFL, the victim tried to fight back.
“If you keep this up, I’ll slice your throat,” Perez allegedly told the victim.
Police said a bystander intervened and Perez ran away. The witness later told cops she saw the victim’s “legs flailing out of the trunk” and Perez trying to push her in, the affidavit reportedly said. The witness stopped her car and got out to see if the woman needed help. That’s when Perez reportedly ran off.
Cops identified Perez as a possible suspect and learned he’s a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for kidnapping and was also on parole. His parole officer positively identified him as the suspect via a surveillance camera, the affidavit reportedly said.
The parole officer told cops that Perez was wearing a GPS ankle monitor. Data from the monitor allegedly showed he was at the Walmart at the time of the armed robbery and kidnapping.
Perez was arrested on Tuesday and taken to the Orange County Jail on charges of armed robbery, attempted kidnapping and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He remains there without bond. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 10.
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