cat power.
Published 3/27/2002
Cat gets credit for girl's escape
Lansing man arraigned on assault charge
By Adam Emerson
Lansing State Journal
A cat stopped a north-side Lansing man from sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl he snatched from his front lawn, police said Tuesday.
What's next
* Wulfrido Lopez's preliminary hearing will be held at 10:30 a.m. April 9 in Lansing District Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson's courtroom.
Investigators said Wulfrido Lopez brought the girl inside the home, put duct tape over her mouth and tried to remove her pants just after 6 p.m. Monday. But the girl's cat attacked Lopez, enabling her to break free and escape.
"She was damn lucky she had that cat in her hand," Detective Brian Smitherman said. "This could have turned out really bad."
Lopez, 36, was arraigned on a charge of kidnapping and child enticement, which is punishable by up to life in prison. He also was charged with criminal sexual conduct - assault with the intent to penetrate, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Lopez, who is from Mexico and doesn't speak English, spoke through an interpreter before Lansing District Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson. Lopez asked for a court-appointed attorney. He was jailed late Tuesday on a $300,000 bond.
Police say that Lopez took the girl into his home at 1019 N. Chestnut St., just off Oakland Avenue. The girl lived nearby but didn't know him, Smitherman said.
The girl screamed and yelled at him to let her go, Lt. Steve Mitchell said. Investigators say he tried to put tape over her mouth after she told him that she thought she heard her mother call for her.
He tried to take off her pants, but couldn't, Smitherman said. The cat, which the girl had been holding the entire time, swiped at Lopez's arm, allowing the girl to run.
The Lansing police special tactical team went to the home with a search warrant, and found Lopez hiding in a crawl space in a basement, covered in dirt to conceal himself, Mitchell said.
Contact Adam Emerson at 377-1058 or aemerson@lsj.com.
thanks to starrzinhereyez for posting about it. i'd heard about it briefly, very briefly, last week...like a random line thrown about, something "a cat saved its owner, a little girl, from somebody..." yeah. i would've forgotten to find out more, otherwise.
Published 3/27/2002
Cat gets credit for girl's escape
Lansing man arraigned on assault charge
By Adam Emerson
Lansing State Journal
A cat stopped a north-side Lansing man from sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl he snatched from his front lawn, police said Tuesday.
What's next
* Wulfrido Lopez's preliminary hearing will be held at 10:30 a.m. April 9 in Lansing District Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson's courtroom.
Investigators said Wulfrido Lopez brought the girl inside the home, put duct tape over her mouth and tried to remove her pants just after 6 p.m. Monday. But the girl's cat attacked Lopez, enabling her to break free and escape.
"She was damn lucky she had that cat in her hand," Detective Brian Smitherman said. "This could have turned out really bad."
Lopez, 36, was arraigned on a charge of kidnapping and child enticement, which is punishable by up to life in prison. He also was charged with criminal sexual conduct - assault with the intent to penetrate, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Lopez, who is from Mexico and doesn't speak English, spoke through an interpreter before Lansing District Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson. Lopez asked for a court-appointed attorney. He was jailed late Tuesday on a $300,000 bond.
Police say that Lopez took the girl into his home at 1019 N. Chestnut St., just off Oakland Avenue. The girl lived nearby but didn't know him, Smitherman said.
The girl screamed and yelled at him to let her go, Lt. Steve Mitchell said. Investigators say he tried to put tape over her mouth after she told him that she thought she heard her mother call for her.
He tried to take off her pants, but couldn't, Smitherman said. The cat, which the girl had been holding the entire time, swiped at Lopez's arm, allowing the girl to run.
The Lansing police special tactical team went to the home with a search warrant, and found Lopez hiding in a crawl space in a basement, covered in dirt to conceal himself, Mitchell said.
Contact Adam Emerson at 377-1058 or aemerson@lsj.com.
thanks to starrzinhereyez for posting about it. i'd heard about it briefly, very briefly, last week...like a random line thrown about, something "a cat saved its owner, a little girl, from somebody..." yeah. i would've forgotten to find out more, otherwise.