Family takes down criminal who tried to abduct 6-year-old girl

A family trip to Venice Beach ended in a distressing confrontation for a small family. Riley Pegram, his wife, his daughter, and his brother were having dinner near Venice Beach when a homeless man tried to snatch 6-year-old Neveah. The family tried to avoid confrontation by moving away but Evan McLaurin-Nelson kept following them. Finally, Riley and his brother Chris took down McLaurin-Nelson and held him till police arrived. The man with a long criminal record has new charges against him.

The family had gone to Venice Beach for the first time on January 4. While the family was there, McLaurin-Nelson approached them, claiming that he knows Neveah and that he needed to "save her."

The family moved away from McLaurin-Nelson to go to a pizza shop where they had planned to have dinner. However, the disturbed man followed them there and kept saying that he needed to "save" the little girl. The girl's uncle, Chris, intervened by pushing McLaurin-Nelson away. This did not deter the attacker.

The Daily Mail reported that the man who had been following the family tried to snatch the girl from her mother. A surveillance video caught the rest of the incident. In the video, Neveah's mother can be seen trying to kick McLaurin-Nelson away as the girl clings on to her.

Riley came in front of McLaurin-Nelson to stop his attack on his wife and daughter. Army-veteran Chris grabbed McLaurin-Nelson by the hair and dragged him down to the pavement. Once the man hit the pavement, Chris and Riley held him down until the police arrived.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division responded to the incident and officers arrived shortly to arrest the child-snatcher. Riley stated that they thought the man was on some kind of drug, which fuelled his deranged behaviour. It is unknown if the man was under the influence of any substance during the attack.

McLaurin-Nelson's arrest revealed that he has a long criminal record which included charges like false imprisonment, indecent exposure, battery, and disorderly conduct in Las Vegas and California. McLaurin-Nelson was suspected to be homeless after moving from Las Vegas to California.

He pleaded not guilty to the new charges of one count of attempted kidnaping and one count of resisting an officer. McLaurin-Nelson will appear in court on January 20 for his next hearing.