A Lake City mother is holding her 3-year-old boy tight tonight after police arrested the man accused of trying to kidnap him. The boy was playing out front of their apartment when the mother stepped inside for what she said seemed like a second when a neighbor caught a man trying to kidnap her son.
In that second the mother stepped inside, police say the neighbor caught a man clutching the boys arm, covering his mouth with his hand, apparently about to take him away. That man, is a registered sex offender who lives less than a mile away.
The mother of the little boy, April Anders, says "its a joy just to know that he's still here that he didn't get taken."
On august 9th, Anders' 3-year-old son, Austin, was playing with his Tonka Truck like always. Anders went inside building E for what she says seemed like seconds when a neighbor caught a stranger grabbing her son.
Anders says, "the man had my son in his arms and his hands covered his mouth and was trying to take off with him."
Anders' boyfriend, Ronald Pincus, immediately did a sex offender search for their neighborhood.
Pincus says, "we were sitting there and i had six pictures popped up and we were going through them and he kept saying that's him that's him ."
Police arrested51-year-old Aniball Barris in Gainesville Monday. Barris lives less than a mile from the Anders' apartment. He was charged with second degree rape in 1991 and he is just one of 58 sexual offenders in a three mile radius of Anders' apartment.
Barris was charged with attempted kidnapping and is being held in the Columbia County jail on 300,000 dollars bond.