Walmart Case – Kidnapping Charges Dropped Against Mahendra Patel

India-West News Desk

ATLANTA, GA –Charges of attempted kidnapping and assault have been dropped against Mahendra Patel, a 57-year-old man from Georgia, after prosecutors concluded their review of the case. Patel had been jailed for six weeks following an incident at a Walmart in March.

Prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the charges after meeting with the boy’s mother and reviewing the facts of the case.

The case had garnered significant public attention, with an online petition calling for “justice” receiving nearly 100,000 signatures and sparking allegations of racial bias.

Patel was arrested on March 18 and indicted in April on charges of criminal attempt to commit kidnapping, simple assault, and simple battery. The accusations stemmed from a claim by Caroline Miller, the mother of a 2-year-old boy, who told WSB-TV of Atlanta that she had to “wrestle” her son away from Patel during a “tug of war” in the store.

Patel, who was released on a $10,000 bond in May, consistently denied the charges. He maintained that he was simply trying to help the mother and child. His lawyer presented security footage that appeared to contradict Miller’s account. The video showed Patel speaking to Miller, who was in a mobility scooter, when her son, seated on her lap, appeared to slip. Patel’s lawyer stated at a hearing that Patel was asking Miller for the location of Tylenol and offered to hold the child while she got up.