NEW YORK (WCBS/CNN) - A convicted sexual predator faces charges after police say he tried to abduct an 11-year-old girl before a good Samaritan jumped in to stop him.
Police arrested Relyn Estrada on Dec. 15 after they say he stalked, ambushed and attempted to kidnap an 11-year-old girl in New York City.
Good Samaritan Alex Salas was one of the reasons the suspect ended up in handcuffs. Salas said he heard the girl screaming around 8 a.m. the same day Estrada was arrested. He is seen on surveillance video running out of his home with a baseball bat.
The good Samaritan said he watched the girl being put into a car head first.
“When I saw her, she was kicking to get out of the car,” Salas said. “That’s when I yelled, and I told her, ‘Do you know him?’ She said, ‘No, please help me!'”
Officers said the 11-year-old was walking to a weekend program at a nearby intermediate school when Estrada allegedly started to follow her. The suspect then called out to the girl, who ignored him and began walking faster, according to police.
“She got tired and made it to this door, but the door wasn’t open, so that’s when he trapped her in between the gates and grabbed her,” Salas said. “She fought, she kicked, she screamed, she did everything and she used her phone.”
The girl’s screams were what brought Salas running outside, where he interrupted the alleged kidnapping, giving the victim time to escape what is said to be Estrada’s car.
During the incident, the suspect reportedly threatened the girl with his own baseball bat.
“He was going to hit her with the bat. He had the bat over her, and he had her down. It was just nerve-wracking,” Salas said.
Salas and Estrada continued arguing while Salas’ wife called police, who arrested the suspect.
“No way in the world was I going to let him leave. God knows what he would have done,” Salas said. “You tell your kids 100 times to be alert, to be careful, and then, to see it, to physically see it, it’s heartbreaking.”
Police said the 11-year-old was not hurt and is now home safe and sound.
Estrada was charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, among others. Police said is a registered sex offender, who had a dozen prior arrests and served time in prison in 2001 for sexually assaulting a woman.
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