RICHMOMD, Va (WTVR) -- Police have arrested and charged a 52-year-old Chesterfield man with stalking in connection with an attempted abduction of a young girl near an East End swimming pool earlier this week.
Richmond police said the incident happened in the 1100 block of Apperson Street around 1:40 p.m. Tuesday to the Powhatan Community pool..
CBS 6 talked to a man who said he worked in the building next to Shahriar Bakhtiarizadeh. Timothy Gibson said he noticed strange behavior from the man earlier that day.
"He was crouched down under the table looking around...he was acting really weird," said Gibson.
Police said the suspect tried several times to persuade a 10-year-old girl to get into his minivan, but that the girl managed to get away. Additionally, officials said the suspect never got out of his vehicle or made physical contact with the girl.
The 10-year-old and her brother called their mom when they made it safely to the pool, who then called police.
Detectives identified a person of interest within 24 hours of the incident.
As a result, police charged Shahriar Bakhtiarizadeh of Chesterfield with one count of misdemeanor stalking. Bakhtiarizadeh faces up to a year in jail.
"I'm sure they could have put their heads together and charged him with something a little more serious," said Stacey Winters, the mother of 10-year-old Inka.
Check back with WTVR.com and watch CBS 6 News for the latest on this developing story.
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