Man, 42, pleads not guilty to two alleged child kidnapping attempts at Mission Valley Mall

A man who allegedly tried to kidnap two children within days of each other at Westfield Mission Valley Mall pleaded not guilty Tuesday to attempted kidnapping charges.

René Arturo Lujan, 42, is accused of grabbing two young girls Tuesday and Thursday of last week. He was arrested about two hours after the second alleged kidnapping attempt.

Lujan faces up to four years and 10 months in state prison if convicted of all charges, according to Assistant District Attorney Eva Kilamyan. He remains in custody without bail.

San Diego police said the first incident happened around 1:30 p.m. on June 18, when a man grabbed a 6-year-old girl who was pushing her younger brother in a stroller. San Diego Police Department Lt. Daniel Meyer said the suspect first passed the girl and her family, then began following them and grabbed the girl.

Meyer said the man carried her a few feet until the girl started screaming, then he released her and fled before fleeing the area in a black Chevrolet Volt.

Two days later, around 2 p.m., Lujan allegedly tried to grab a 5-year-old girl at the mall and put her in a car, but an employee of a nearby business intervened.

Police were able to gather a description and license plate of the suspect's car, Meyer said. The license plate number was entered into the police department's automated license plate reader database, which alerted police that the car had passed under a license plate reader in the downtown area. city ​​of San Diego Thursday afternoon.

Officers stopped Lujan around 4 p.m. Thursday while he was driving eastbound on State Route 94 near Home Avenue in the Mount Hope area and arrested him, Meyer said.

Kilamyan said the investigation into this case is still ongoing, including determining whether there are other alleged victims.

“We are asking the public to give us any information they have about any other victims in this case, whether reported or not, as police are investigating whether this happened to anyone else.” Kilamyan said.

“We believe there could be casualties, given that there were two incidents close in time. We are working to investigate to find out more and would appreciate any information from the public on this matter.

City News Service contributed to this article.