Assistant Police Chief John Adams stopped short of naming the man a suspect in the abduction attempt. He remains a "person of interest" in that case, however, and remained in the Polk County Jail Wednesday on a charge of obstructing police.
The investigation is continuing.
Adams said Tuesday's arrest was the result of an alert bus driver who called the county 911 center to report a suspicious person hanging around outside Forest North Subdivision. This is the same residential neighborhood where a 10-year-old girl said a man attempted to grab her as she was on her way home from school on Nov. 9.
The girl reportedly kicked the man and was able to run to the safety of her home. The incident prompted a warning note to be sent home with children at nearby Eastside Elementary School. Parents, school employees and bus drivers have been on a heightened state of alert since.
Adams was the responding officer Tuesday. He said he arrived at Forest North Subdivision and located a man who matched the physical description called into 911.
Adams said he approached the man and asked him why he was standing around in that location. The man reportedly claimed that he was waiting for "a friend" who was at work at the Tip Top Poultry processing plant across the street. However, he could not provide the name of his friend, Adams said.
Adams then asked the man for identification.
"He said 'I don't have any,' and then he turned and started to walk way," Adams said. "I grabbed his arm and he immediately began trying to fight with me."
Adams took the man to the ground, handcuffed him and transported him to the county jail on a charge of obstruction of an officer. Adams said the man has since failed to provide a complete address and was being held pending further investigation and a background check.
Adams identified the man as Raul Rubin Roblero, 26, of an unspecified Cedartown address.
Post a Comment