COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A man indicted for attempting to kidnap a child at Walmart in Acworth was granted a $10,000 bond in court Tuesday.
Mahendra Patel and his attorney could be seen leaving the Cobb County Jail later in the afternoon, following the 11:30 hearing.
Patel had been held without bond since his arrest following the alleged incident on March 18.
As he walked out of jail, Patel said he was thankful for all the support he’s had.
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“Lot of ups and downs but I knew we had a team outside helping me,” he said. “Here’s my daughter. She is the champion. She worked day and night for me and she’s the one got Ashleigh on the team.”
His attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, has publicly maintained that he is innocent. She showed surveillance video in court of Patel during his visit to the store on the night in question.
“Mr. Patel offered to hold the baby while she got up to show him where the Tylenol was to point. He believes fully that she’s handicap,” Merchant told the court on Tuesday.
Acworth police arrested Patel in March after Caroline Miller said she stopped him from kidnapping her 2-year-old son inside Walmart.
She said Patel asked her for help finding the Tylenol. When she pointed to it, she said he grabbed her 2-year-old son out of her hands.
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“I’m like ‘No, no, not a, what are you doing?’ He pulled him,” Miller said. “I pulled him back. We’re tug of warring.”
“This video is very clear that that did not happen,” Merchant said.
Patel’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, later released a surveillance video from inside the Walmart.
In the video, Merchant said you can see Patel cross paths with Miller, who was in a motorized scooter and holding a baby in her arms. A little girl is sitting on the chair’s base under the mother’s legs.
“He told the police he leaned in to pick the child up so she could show him where the Tylenol was.”
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Merchant said the few seconds where Patel had his back to the camera showed him reaching for the boy because he thought he was going to fall off.
“And a normal person would think that you’re handicapped, in a scooter, got two young children that she’s holding onto. So she’s getting up to try to point and he thinks the child is going to fall,” she said.
Miller did not respond to requests to comment on the video. She previously said that she is not handicapped, but her children wanted to ride in the motorized wheelchair.
The video shows an employee help Patel find the Tylenol. He passes Miller on the way to the checkout area and shows her the bottle.
“He’s not fleeing as the police have said. He’s using his debit card. He’s talking to an employee here, paying for it with his own name,” Merchant said.
“I’m going to grant this man a bond. He’s entitled to a bond. He doesn’t have any type of conviction that bothers me in terms of any type of violent behavior,” Judge Gregory Poole said Tuesday.
Patel was arrested in March. He’s been in jail with no bond since then. A Change.org petition has more than 45,000 signatures in support of Patel.
The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office released a statement Tuesday evening, saying:
“Today, a scheduled bond hearing was held for defendant Patel. During that hearing both the Office of the District Attorney, on behalf of the State, and the defense counsel for defendant Patel, presented evidence and arguments as is customary in every bond hearing. During its presentation, the State deferred to the judgment of the court pertaining to bond. As was in the court’s authority, it determined a bond was appropriate.
“Bonds are reduced or waived with the approval of the presiding judge and do not reflect any opinions of the presiding judge regarding the guilt or innocence of a defendant. Neither defense attorneys nor the District Attorney have unilateral authority on whether a defendant receives bond. The State did not recommend bond. When the state considers bond, it considers several factors to include the facts of the case and the criminal history of the charged person.
“The fact that any defendant receives a bond does not influence how the State approaches a case. We remain committed to the protection of children.”
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