MADERA (KMJ) — A registered sex offender has been identified as the man who tried to snatch an eight year old boy from a Madera apartment complex laundry room.
Michael Bland is alleged to have entered the room along with a mother and her son Monday evening, locking the door, turning off the lights, grabbing the victim, and pulling him outside. That’s when the mother took action.
“She confronted him, striking him, which caused him to lose grip on the child and he fled the scene,” details Detective Division Sergeant Mark Trukki.
The suspect was identified and arrested soon after officers arrived.
“It seems like this parent did what any parent would do: took immediate action and protected her child.”
Michael Bland has since been booked into Madera County Jail.
“Several felonies including kidnapping and willful cruelty to a child,” adds Sergeant Trukki. “He obviously is a sex registrant here in the City of Madera and has been since 2012. His original conviction was back in 2007 in the County of San Joaquin and that was for a lewd upon a child under the age of 14.
“So he is definitely facing some serious charges.”
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
