James McGonagle Wiki – James McGonagle Biography
James McGonagle appeared in Queens Supreme Court on Friday to face two charges related to the July 15 kidnapping attempt. He pleaded not guilty and was placed in preventive detention.
TO New York The man who tried to kidnap a five-year-old boy on the street appeared before a judge on Friday to face charges of attempted kidnapping. James was charged with attempted second-degree kidnapping and endangering the well-being of a child following the July 15 incident.
The boy, Jacob López Díaz, was walking with his family at 8 p.m. when he was grabbed and pushed into McGonagle’s car. His nine-year-old brother, Benny, pleaded with McGonagle to return him, allowing his mother, Dolores Díaz López, 45, to pull him out of the car through a window.
“The defendant blatantly grabbed the boy, who was just steps away from his mother, and allegedly tried to kidnap him,” said Melinda Katz, the Queen’s district attorney. McGonagle was arrested in the early morning of July 16 after hospital staff recognized him.
‘This is the worst fear of parents. This mother fought to save her son. Never underestimate the strength of a mother. Fortunately, he has been arrested and will face justice. McGonagle pleaded not guilty and was sent to Rikers Island without bail. He will return to court on September 8 and faces 15 years in prison if convicted. Police are still searching for his father, also 55-year-old James McGonagle, who was with him at the time. Surveillance footage showed young McGonagle jumping out of a nearby car and snatching Jacob off the sidewalk, throwing the boy into his car.
James McGonagle Age
James McGonagle is 24 years old.
James McGonagle Charges – Arrested
Dolores Díaz López was walking through the Richmond Hill neighborhood in Queens when McGonagle tried to grab her five-year-old son, Jacob, from the sidewalk. 5-year-old Jacob Diaz appears safely at home after a horrific kidnapping attempt. A mother was walking with her children on Hillside Avenue in Queens on Thursday night when her five-year-old son was the victim of a blatant kidnapping attempt.
Police say the boy was not injured during the botched kidnapping The prosecutor said that during the fight, a passenger who was sitting in the vehicle was heard asking McGonagle, ‘What are you doing?’ McGonagle allegedly responded, ‘We took the child.’ Diaz said WABC that she and her children were on their way to visit their father around 8 p.m., on Hillside Avenue in the Queens borough of New York City. He said McGonagle jumped out of a parked brown sedan and ran towards them.
Diaz, with his young son Benny and his eight-year-old daughter Zuriely, pursued the kidnappers. ‘I said, “My God, my children, oh my God, my child,” Diaz said. She said WNYW: ‘Fight. “They say you fight tooth and nail for your children and that’s what I did.” James McGonagle, 24, is featured on the NYPD wanted poster. He was arrested hours after the attempted kidnapping.
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Benny said, “I was saying to the man, ‘Give me back my brother! ” “My brother was smart and he stood up and my mother took him by the arms.” He added: ‘If they hadn’t returned my brother, I would have had to beat them.’ Zuriely said he heard McGonagle say, ‘Give me back that stupid kid.’ Jacob was not injured. His family said he was scared but did not cry over the horrible encounter. Then the car accelerated.
McGonagle, handcuffed and with his legs chained, had been in the psychiatric ward of the prison. Shortly after the incident, McGonagle, who is from Pomonok in Queens, New York, went to Brookdale Hospital and struck an innocent bystander in the face. In the fight that followed, he was injured and went to the hospital with facial injuries, in the early morning of July 16. Doctors recognized him from police appeals and he was arrested.
Investigators contacted McGonagle’s mother, Cassandra, 53, who positively identified both her husband and son as the two men who were photographed in surveillance footage during the kidnapping attempt. They said there is no evidence that the suspects knew the boy’s mother. Diaz told the New York Daily News that he was ‘so happy’ to hear that McGonagle had been arrested.
When interviewed by the Daily News on Friday, Jacob was wearing a T-shirt that read ‘Proud to be a mama’s boy. Diaz told WABC that his three children are now ‘traumatized’ and refuse to leave the house. “Mothers must be careful with their children,” he said.
Always take their hand when you walk with them because there are a lot of evil people and you never know who is around. But now I know that the man is not on the street and now I can rest and I know that my family is fine. “You can’t do this with another child.” The incident comes as crime rates in New York continue to rise, with gun violence rising and attacks on the city’s subway systems and on the streets becoming increasingly common.
Anyone with information about the botched kidnapping in Queens should call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or in Spanish at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).