Man jailed after alleged attempt to lure child into his vehicle
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story listed Alkindi’s address as 621 Domain Drive, Morgantown, W.Va. The story has been updated to reflect current court records.
Police arrested a man from the United Arab Emirates in North Strabane Township following reports he attempted to lure a 10-year-old girl into his vehicle.
Humaid Alkindi, 23, was charged with two counts of child luring, driving with a suspended license and careless driving by North Strabane police on Wednesday. Court records list his address as 100 W. Cherry Ave., Washington, or the Washington County Jail.
According to online court records, Alkindi is in the country as a college student.
Alkindi is incarcerated in Washington County jail. District Judge Joshua Kanalis denied Alkindi bail, citing his immigration status.
The incident took place Monday evening at the Waffle House on Racetrack Road in North Strabane, according to the criminal complaint.
At about 6:20 p.m., the alleged victim’s grandfather dropped her off in the parking lot.
According to the complaint, Alkindi came through the parking lot at a high speed and almost hit the girl. Police said an argument ensued, but that Alkindi apologized to the girl.
Inside the restaurant, after the grandfather left, Alkindi told the girl “she was beautiful and looked like his girlfriend,” according to the complaint.
Alkindi allegedly asked the girl to look at pictures of his girlfriend on his phone. The girl eventually walked away, and an employee who overheard the conversation felt it was inappropriate and told Alkindi that the girl was just 10 years old.
The girl also told police she made Alkindi aware of her age.
After Alkinidi left the Waffle House, the girl was standing outside behind the restaurant with a 12-year-old boy who police also refer to as a victim.
Alkindi allegedly came around the corner and told the girl, “Come on. Get in my car,” several times before walking away.
When the boy and girl went around the restaurant they saw that Alkindi was still there. The boy told the girl to run as fast as she could inside to tell an employee, according to the complaint.
As she ran past Alkindi, he allegedly continued to tell her to come to his car.
Alkinidi left but returned to the Waffle House the following night and was arrested. He reportedly told police he called the girl to his car because he wanted to give her $20 for almost hitting her.
Police said they interviewed “numerous” witnesses and employees about the incident.