Las Vegas girl fought until kidnapping suspect let her go
A 13-year-old Las Vegas middle school student scratched and kicked a man who tried to abduct her until he let her out of his car Monday morning, according to arrest documents.
Jorge Gomez-Peretz was arrested Monday morning after allegedly trying to abduct the girl near Tenaya Way and Alexander Road while she walked to Leavitt Middle School, at 3970 N. Tenaya Way, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
While driving a white Mustang, the 37-year-old man honked and tried to “hail (the girl) down” around 7:45 a.m., making a U-turn and pulling up next to the girl to ask if she remembered him from “when she pet his dog about two weeks ago,” the report said.
When the girl said she remembered him, Gomez-Peretz asked if she wanted a ride to school. She said no, and Gomez-Peretz got out of the car and grabbed the girl, “pulling her into the passenger seat of the white Mustang,” according to the arrest report.
The girl struggled and “grabbed the passenger side mirror” before ultimately being pulled into the car, the arrest report said.
Once Gomez-Peretz locked the car doors, she began kicking the car’s windows and screaming, “Let me out.” The girl later told police she scratched the man in the eye and kicked him in the groin while he was driving, according to the report.
The girl told police that Gomez-Peretz “appeared to be ‘annoyed’” with her kicking and screaming so he unlocked the door, letting her out of the car, the report said.
She then ran to the middle school and told a Clark County School District police officer about the attempted kidnapping, the report said. Metro officers were called and arrived at the school around 8:50 a.m.
School police had already detained Gomez-Peretz, whom the girl identified as her kidnapper, according to the report. His car had damage to its passenger-side mirror, and he had a scratch on his left forearm. The inside of his car matched the girl’s description, as did clothes police found in Gomez-Peretz’s room.
Gomez-Peretz denied having any physical confrontation with the girl, saying she was the one who flagged him down for a ride to school. He told police that he “hesitantly said yes,” according to the report.
He also said the damage on his car was from hitting a garbage can, and the scratch on his left forearm was from his dog, the report said.
Gomez-Peretz was arrested and taken to the Clark County Detention Center, where he remained Thursday with a $100,000 bail, jail records show. He faces a charge of first degree kidnapping of a minor.
Leavitt Middle School sent a letter to parents Monday to tell them about the incident.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
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