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Attempted Walmart kidnapper had active GPS anklet on when he tried to shove woman into trunk: affidavit

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Published  September 4, 2024 11:01am EDT
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FOX 35 Orlando

Man accused of robbery, attempted kidnapping

Orlando police have arrested a man accused of armed robbery and attempted kidnapping of a woman outside a Walmart on Monday. Police said the attack happened Monday afternoon in the parking lot of the Walmart near South Goldenrod Road and Market Place Drive.

ORLANDO, Fla. - New details have been released amid the investigation into an attempted kidnapping that happened Monday in the parking lot of a Walmart in Orlando. 

Juan Perez was arrested and charged with armed robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery, and attempted kidnapping with intent to inflict harm after the incident that unfolded at the Walmart on South Goldenrod Road on Monday afternoon, according to the Orlando Police Department. 

The 54-year-old man was caught on surveillance footage pacing around the parking lot before approaching the victim, police said. Perez allegedly demanded the woman's purse at knifepoint before forcing her into the trunk of her own car. 

Walmart surveillance footage (Photo: Orlando Police Department)

"If you keep this up, I'll slice your throat," Perez allegedly told the victim as he kept trying to take her purse, according to an arrest affidavit. 

A bystander intervened and the woman was able to run away from the scene. 

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Police said at the time of Perez's arrest that he was on federal probation for a previous kidnapping charge. New information has been brought to light about Perez's criminal history. 

Juan Perez (Photo: Orlando Police Department)

Attempted kidnapper had active GPS monitoring anklet on in Walmart parking lot, police say

Perez wasn't arrested until the day after the kidnapping after he left the Walmart parking lot on Monday. He was identified as a possible suspect and detectives learned that Perez is a registered sex offender and was on active probation at the time of the attempted kidnapping, according to an arrest affidavit. 

In 2023, Perez was arrested for violating his probation, which was his most recent interaction with law enforcement. 

The Orlando Police Department made contact with Perez's probation officer who said the suspect had an active GPS monitoring anklet on at the time of the attempted kidnapping, the affidavit said. A review of his location showed that he was at Walmart at 4 p.m. and left after the alleged crime happened. 

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The affidavit added that surveillance photos of Perez at Walmart were shown to his probation officer, who was able to positively identify Perez as the attempted kidnapper. 

Perez was arrested after he was located in a vehicle that matched the one used during alleged crime. 

VIDEO: Kidnapping attempt outside Florida Walmart

Orlando Police said a man on federal probation for kidnapping attempted to rob and kidnap a woman outside a Walmart. Police released surveillance video of the alleged attack.

Witness told police she saw ‘legs flailing' out of victim's trunk

Amid the investigation, police interviewed a witness who was driving in the Walmart parking lot when she said she saw the victim's "legs flailing out of the trunk" of her car, according to an arrest affidavit. She also said she saw a man, later identified as Perez, trying to push her in. 

"[The witness] stopped immediately to ask if they were OK and she yelled, ‘Help,’ so she parked in the same row next to them to try and help," the affidavit said. 

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That's when Perez ran off. 

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