A California woman is in custody after allegedly posing as a Russian police officer in an attempt to kidnap an 8-year-old child.
Courtney Perrone, 39, tried to snatch the girl in a Santa Monica, Cali. alley on Wednesday while the child was helping an adult neighbor put several dogs in the neighbor’s vehicle, the Santa Monica Police Department said.
“She was like, ‘I’m the Russian police, and I’m here to save you,’” Mark, the neighbor who was with the girl, told CBS News.
He said the girl is “like his niece,” and refers to him as “Uncle Markie,” ABC News reported.
Perrone “had lipstick all over her face and just looked a little crazy and stuff,” Mark said.
“Perrone knelt and put her arms around the child and a tug of war between the neighbor and Perrone ensues,” the Santa Monica PD said.
The neighbor got the child in the car and told Perrone to leave.
The woman tried to pull the kid out of the vehicle, then flashed a switchblade before running off, cops said.
The girl was uninjured.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office charged Perrone with one count of attempted kidnapping someone under 14, one count of false imprisonment by violence and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.
She faces a maximum of six and a half years in prison and is being held in lieu of a $135,000 bail.
This isn’t Perrone’s first brush with the law.
She was recently arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department for assault with a deadly weapon, but was released due to insufficient evidence.
In other states, Perrone was arrested on charges of assault and battery, resisting arrest, possession of controlled substance, and trespassing.
Investigators say she has outstanding warrants from New Hampshire for stalking, and is currently on probation in Nevada after being convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
