Man who tried to snatch MoVal girl walking home from school sentenced

A 41-year-old man who tried to snatch a Moreno Valley girl at gunpoint as she walked home from school was sentenced today to four years in state prison.

Arturo Ramirez Cisneros in October pleaded guilty to attempted abduction of a minor. The plea was directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly, without input or objection from the District Attorney's Office.

During a hearing Tuesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Kelly imposed the term of imprisonment that he stipulated at the time of the defendant's admission.

According to Sgt. John Fitzgerald of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, on the afternoon of Jan. 18, 2023, the victim, identified only as a 12-year-old girl, was returning home following classes at Sunnymead Middle School in the 23900 block of Eucalyptus Avenue when Cisneros pulled to the curb in a green Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.   

"The suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and told her in Spanish, `Get in the truck. I won't hurt you,''' Fitzgerald said. "The victim ran away and got help from two civilians who were nearby. She was not injured during the incident."

The sergeant said Cisneros fled the scene.   

In the ensuing investigation, detectives identified the pickup, relying on images captured via security surveillance video cameras.   

Fitzgerald said that nine days later, investigators tracked the vehicle and defendant to a property in the 24000 block of Webster Avenue in Moreno Valley, where Cisneros was taken into custody without incident.   

He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.