Man accused of attempted kidnapping of 2-year-old at Georgia Walmart granted bond

A man who has been detained for more than six weeks after being accused of attempting to kidnap a 2-year-old boy at a Walmart in Georgia was granted bond on Tuesday in a case that prosecutors called "unusual."

Mahendra Patel, 57, of Kennesaw, was arrested and subsequently indicted by a grand jury on attempted kidnapping, battery and assault charges stemming from an incident reported at a Walmart in Acworth on March 18. The case has garnered local and national attention after his defense attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, released surveillance footage that she said proves his innocence.

During a bond hearing on Tuesday, Merchant said Patel was looking for Tylenol for his mother when he approached the mother of the toddler, Caroline Miller, for help. Miller was riding in a motorized cart with her two young children at the time, though Merchant noted she is not physically disabled.

While showing an edited compilation of the surveillance footage showing Patel and Miller in the store, Merchant argued that Patel was offering to hold the toddler while Miller pointed out where the medicine was.

"The video couldn't be clearer," Merchant told the judge. "Mr. Patel did not try to kidnap this child."

She said that after leaning in to reach for the child, Patel "immediately backs up" and puts his hands in his pockets when Miller leans back. She said he went by her several more times before paying for the Tylenol and leaving the store. She said he interacted with other Walmart employees, including one who referred to him as a "friendly older gentleman."

In asking for a $10,000 bond, she argued that Patel wasn't a flight risk and had strong ties to the community. She also said that over 250 people, including family members and neighbors, had come to the courthouse that day in support of his release.

"He had a birthday two weeks ago in the Cobb County Jail," she said. "We just ask that you release him on bond."

Prosecutor Jesse Evans requested that Patel remain held on bond while citing the defendant's alleged admissions and his prior criminal history.

Evans showed a clip from the surveillance footage that he said shows Patel grabbing the two-year-old boy's leg while he's in his mother's lap and "tugging the child … away from the mom" and Miller trying to pull the child back to her lap.

"I know there's a narrated, edited version that was presented by the defense," Evans told the judge. "The state would say, if you don't take a closer look, it might cause concerns. But when you do take a closer look, you can see him tugging on this child."

Miller spoke out following the incident in March, telling Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB she and Patel were "tug-of-warring" over her child. Evans said Miller was on the Zoom call for the hearing and has been "deferential to the state" in the case.

"She is of the belief that the defendant needs treatment," he told the judge. "I, too, am of the belief that this defendant has got some serious issues that we've got to talk about."

Patel was initially arrested on a kidnapping charge. Evans said the state believes attempted kidnapping is the more appropriate charge, which is why they had "some urgency" to get it to a grand jury, which ultimately indicted him on attempted kidnapping.

"I think the general public thinks about kidnapping, has this visual image of white vans just snatching kids off the street," Evans said. "And the court knows and state knows, the defense knows, legal experts know, that's not the legal definition of kidnapping. It's the slight asportation of a person against their will."

Evans said the state is "not oblivious to the fact that this is a very bizarre set of circumstances," but argued that the defendant "encroached on the space of this mother and her two children."

He said there was a witness in the next aisle who was "unnerved by what he had seen."

The prosecutor also argued that Patel made "a number of admissions" to police following his arrest on March 21 that were "telling where his mindset is."

"He admitted that he grabbed the child, he admitted that he upset the mom," Evans said. "To quote him, 'She thought I was going to take her kid. I said, No, no, no.'"

Evans said that when Patel saw Miller on the phone before he left the store, he allegedly "pleaded with her" and said he was "not going to take your kid."

"At the tail end of his interview, he said he wanted to apologize to her for what he had done," Evans said.

Evans also noted that Patel is a convicted felon, saying the defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in a federal case in 2006 and served six months in federal prison. Merchant, who also addressed the defendant's criminal history, said Patel was additionally previously convicted of reckless driving and has a pending DUI less safe case for which he was out on bond at the time of his arrest in March.

"This is his fourth arrest," Evans said, saying the state does not consider Patel a good candidate for bond "based on the history we have here."

He also alleged Patel may have been intoxicated at the time of the March 18 incident in Walmart, which Merchant countered there was "absolutely no evidence of."

Judge Gregory Poole granted Patel $10,000 bond, saying that he's "entitled to a bond," citing his ties to the community and education.

"He's got all he needs to show me he's a member of our community," Poole said.

The judge said he didn't find anything in the defendant's criminal history that made him believe Patel posed a risk to the community, and that based on the video, he saw no flight risk.

There was a large applause in the courtroom following the hearing.

Patel posted bond and could be seen leaving the Cobb County Jail later Tuesday, WSB reported.