India Native Charged In Macomb County Attempted Kidnapping
SHELBY TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - A 47-year-old man is behind bars after police say he snatched a baby from a mother's arms.
Bond was set at $500,000 cash/surety for Jamescutty Varghese — a native of India.
Britanny and Robert Wrobel of Shelby Township said Varghese approached them, late Saturday afternoon, outside the Foxland Apartments at M-59 and Mound Road.
Varghese allegedly grabbed the 1-year-old boy and ran, but the parents were able to chase him down.
"I can't let go of the thought of 'what if," Robert Wrobel told reporters. "It's one of the most helpless feelings I've ever felt in my life."
Varghese has only been in the country for two-and-a-half years and the high bond was set amid concern he could be a flight risk.
"The defendant is here on some type of immigration status or green card, that he may flee the country," said 41A District Court Judge Douglass Shepherd at the arraignment on Monday.
Varghese, who pleaded not guilty, faces up to five years in prison if convicted of attempted kidnapping. He's being held at the Macomb County jail.
"It was terrifying," Britanny Wrobel said. "I'm so glad that he can't get out ... I didn't like the fact that he was laughing."
Added her husband, "Him smiling in court made me sick. I wanted nothing more than to come off my bench. I hope he gets absolutely the worst that they can throw at him. It's what he deserves."
A preliminary exam is scheduled for Aug. 19.
