A man faced a judge in a Massachusetts courtroom Wednesday on kidnapping charges after police say he allegedly attempted to take a 1-year-old girl from a laundromat in Lynn.
Precious Chigbue, 24, was ordered held without bail following his arraignment in Lynn District Court after prosecutors said he told police he wanted to kidnap the baby girl and slit her throat.
He stood silently as prosecutors laid out their case against him in court.
Chigbue was arrested on Tuesday after police say they received a call about a possible kidapping at the Showcase Coin-Op laundromat on Washington Street around 11 a.m.
Witnesses tell police Chigbue walked into the laundromat and was walking around for a while before he picked up the girl, who had been sitting on a table.
An alert customer alerted the child's mother and other patrons. They followed the man into the parking lot and were able to get the child back.
"He just walked in, grabbed her, started walking out. She ran after her, grabbed her," one customer told NBC Boston. "That was it. And we got police."
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The child wasn't hurt.
Using a photo of the suspect provided by witnesses, police were able to identify and arrest Chigbue inside a nearby Stop & Shop supermarket.
Emeka Iloba, who identified himself as the suspect's cousin, said Chigbue had recently switched to a new medication and would never harm anyone.
Court records detail some mental health issues. Chigbue apparently told police he was on antipsychotic medication because he was having hallucinations. His family said he had become obsessed with Hillary Clinton and the election. He even asked a detective if he had voted for Clinton at the end of a recorded police interview.
His attorney would not provide further details when asked if there would be any kind of mental health evaluation.
Chigbue will return to court on Nov. 2 for a dangerousness hearing.
