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RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A 40-year-old man accused of trying to snatch a Moreno Valley girl at gunpoint as she walked home from school was charged Tuesday with attempted kidnapping of a minor.

Arturo Ramirez Cisneros was arrested Friday following a nine-day Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.

Cisneros, who is being held on $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, was slated to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. John Fitzgerald, on the afternoon of Jan. 18, the victim, identified only as a 12-year-old girl, was returning home following classes at Sunnymead Middle School in the 23900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue when Cisneros allegedly pulled to the curb in a green Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.

“The suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and told her in Spanish, `Get in the truck. I won’t hurt you,”‘ Fitzgerald said. “The victim ran away and got help from two civilians who were nearby. She was not injured during the incident.”

The sergeant alleged that Cisneros fled the scene.

Detectives took over the ensuing investigation and ultimately identified the pickup, relying on images captured via security surveillance video cameras.

Fitzgerald said investigators tracked the vehicle and defendant to a property in the 24000 block of Webster Avenue in Moreno Valley, where Cisneros was taken into custody without incident on Friday.

The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

Man Charged with Trying to Snatch MoVal Girl Walking Home from School