A Naples man was arrested for allegedly picking up and walking away with a young boy at the Coastland Mall.
Officers responded to a call of a suspicious male, possibly under the influence, who picked up a child and attempted to walk off with him, according to Collier County Deputies.
Britney and Nikolas Egger say they witnessed the man harassing a family of four for some time. He allegedly offered the family $100 to talk to him. "Obviously we got kind of a weird vibe. Like, maybe he was on something," said the couple.
The witness told deputies the man continued to follow the family through the mall and eventually picked up a young boy walking with the family. "He started walking toward them and then as he got closer, he kind of dropped his bags and ran and picked up the kid," said Nikolas.
The boy's mother was shocked and screamed, before reaching out and brushing her son's leg. A few steps later, Hayes put the boy down and kept walking. That's when Britney and Nikolas took action. They called the police and Nikolas began following Hayes. Cops showed up quickly and arrested him outside the food court.
46-year-old Donald Hayes was arrested and charged with Battery against a child and remains in jail on a $2,000 bond.
"If nobody chose to call and we ignored the situation, or it was a situation that he just dropped the kid and went on his way because the mom stopped it, he could still be out," said the couple. "Don't hesitate, don't say 'someone else will take care of it,' say, you know what, I'll be the one."
