A tense chapter for one of San Diego's busiest shopping hubs is nearing its legal end, after a local man admitted he tried to snatch young children in two separate attempts at the Westfield Mission Valley mall last June. Prosecutors say 43-year-old Rene Arturo Lujan pleaded guilty Friday to attempted kidnapping charges and acknowledged in court that he grabbed the children during the incidents. Detectives used automated license plate readers to zero in on a suspect vehicle and arrest him last summer.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Lujan's plea to charges that include attempted kidnapping carries a maximum potential sentence of 12 years in state prison. Court filings reviewed by the paper show that his sentencing is scheduled for April.
The first scare unfolded around 1:30 p.m. on June 18, 2024, when investigators say a man trailed a 6-year-old girl who was pushing an infant sibling in a stroller through the mall. The man allegedly grabbed the girl and carried her a few feet before she screamed, prompting him to drop her and run, according to the Times of San Diego. Witnesses and surveillance video helped investigators pull a license plate number, which they tied to a black Chevrolet Volt.
Two days later, at about 2 p.m., San Diego police say a second attempt played out in a mall parking area when a man tried to put a 5-year-old girl into a vehicle. This time, a teenage employee at a nearby inflatable play area stepped in to interrupt the attempt. Quick action by that worker and nearby bystanders prevented harm to the child, and the girl was not injured, KCTV5 reported.
How Police Tracked Him Down
Investigators plugged the suspect vehicle's plate into the San Diego Police Department's automated license plate reader system. That database flagged the car when it passed under a downtown reader, giving detectives a real-time lead on the vehicle's movements. According to KGTV/10News, officers soon stopped the black Volt on eastbound State Route 94 near Home Avenue around 4 p.m. and took the driver into custody.
Plea And What Comes Next
Prosecutors say Lujan admitted in court that he grabbed the children during the Mission Valley incidents and entered guilty pleas to attempted kidnapping counts, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. He faces up to 12 years behind bars in state prison. The county prosecutor's office has said the investigation is continuing as authorities work to determine whether additional victims might come forward.
Police And Community Response
When the arrest was first announced last summer, police urged anyone with information to contact the department's Eastern Division or Crime Stoppers, and investigators said they believed other victims might exist, Times of San Diego reported. Community members, meanwhile, praised the teen employee and other bystanders whose fast reactions likely prevented a terrifying situation from becoming something far worse.
Privacy advocates and civil liberties groups have long argued over automated license plate readers, while police often point to cases like this one as proof of their usefulness. Officers told KGTV/10News that the system captures single images of plates to generate investigative leads, rather than operating in a continuous surveillance mode.
