HOUSTON – A young family is traumatized after a trip downtown over the weekend because a homeless man allegedly tried to kidnap their children near Minute Maid Park.
The incident happened Saturday after the Cinco de Mayo parade in the 1600 block of Congress at N. Jackson.
Devin Neal, 32, was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping.
Court documents show he grabbed and pulled a wagon that a 1-year-old was sitting in with his 3-year-old brother. Their father pushed him away twice.
Neal then allegedly came back again and grabbed the 1-year-old boy, attempting to remove him from the wagon. Their father intervened again, which is when court records say Neal struck the father with a closed fist several times.
“The allegations in this case are terrifying,” a criminal law hearing officer said during Neal’s probable cause hearing. Neal did not appear in person because she said he was “combative.”
Their father was able to push Neal into the bushes while their mother ran to safety with the kids and nearby police got involved.
The father has bruises and scrapes and said he was still trying to process what happened when contacted by KPRC 2 News on Tuesday.
“He has an extensive history of violence and threats of violence,” the hearing officer said. “We have this extensive history of violence, this extreme danger to the community, particularly to a vulnerable segment of the community, namely children.”
Records show Neal was convicted of felony assault of a family member by impeding breath in 2016 and felony harassment of a public servant in 2020.
Neal is being held in jail on a $125,000 bond. Records show he was listed as indigent and has been assigned a court-appointed attorney.
House arrest is one condition for his release if bond gets posted, which the hearing office said isn’t really possible if he’s homeless, making him even more dangerous to the community.
Neal is expected in court on Wednesday.