For the second time this year, a Los Angeles woman with a mental health disorder has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to kidnap a child in Koreatown.
His previous conviction for attempted kidnapping resulted in a diversion program for a mental health disorder that the court found had to do with his initial crime.
But police say another kidnapping attempt was attempted Tuesday, when LAPD officers responded to reports of a woman approaching children around 5 p.m. at Seoul International Park in the 3200 block of San Marino Street, according to the department. .
Witnesses who spoke with officers said the woman, identified as Yara Vanessa Pineda, approached several children, picked them up and then let them go, KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported.
Pineda, 27, allegedly released the children after her parents confronted her and she then fled.
Officers saw Pineda running down Normandie Avenue and tried to arrest her, said Jader Chaves, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. She resisted and officers used a Taser to subdue her, Chaves said.
Los Angeles police arrested her on February 28 on suspicion of trying to kidnap a child from a Target.
On Feb. 25, Olympic Division officers responded to a report that Pineda allegedly grabbed a 4-year-old boy from behind and pulled him out of the store, according to a police report.
Pineda allegedly let go of the child after his parents confronted her outside. The family told officers they did not know Pineda.
Three days later, officers in the North Hollywood area received a call from a person who saw Pineda and recognized her from a community alert issued by police. She was found and arrested in the attempted kidnapping.
On May 21, Pineda was sentenced to two years in a mental health alternative program. It was not clear from court records why she was released so recently after the previous arrest.
A court can grant a mental health diversion to people with a felony charge if they are diagnosed with a mental health disorder and do not pose a significant safety risk if treated in the community, according to the California Department of State Hospitals. . The charges, however, cannot be murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, or lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age.
The diagnosis may be schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder.
Pineda's diagnosis was not revealed in court documents.
A mental health diversion is granted when the court finds that a mental health disorder influenced the criminal behavior.
