Man accused of kidnapping baby in Uptown, police say

CHARLOTTE — A 34-year-old man was charged with kidnapping after police said he grabbed a woman’s 9-month-old baby late Wednesday night and started to run through Uptown.

Court records show he was issued a $15,000 secured bond Friday by Judge Cecilia Oseguera.

Sometime after a Charlotte FC match, witnesses said Edgar Segura-Jimenez walked up to a group of people on South Tryon Street near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

He snatched up the baby at about 12:30 a.m. and tried to get away but strangers intervened and stopped him before he got too far, witnesses said.

“I think it’s amazing,” said Jody Jefferies. “We need more people like that just to jump in and say, ‘This is not right. This is a child.’”

Jefferies, a teacher, said the situation reminds parents to stay vigilant.

“We teach our children, don’t speak to strangers, those type of things, the rules,” Jefferies said. “And then you have something like this, that unless you’re holding on tight to your child all the time, it can’t be prevented. So, how do you prevent something like that?”

Segura-Jimenez dropped the child when he was caught and luckily, the infant was not injured.

There was no connection between the suspect and the victims, police said. It appeared to be a random crime.

Segura-Jimenez is in jail with no bond after being charged with first-degree kidnapping.

State records show Segura-Jimenez had no prior arrests in North Carolina.

His address is in Illinois and there were no court records of him there, too.

His first court appearance is Friday.

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