Charges dropped against Georgia man accused of trying to kidnap a toddler at Walmart

Charges against a Georgia man accused of trying to kidnap a toddler at an Atlanta-area Walmart were dismissed Wednesday after prosecutors said they were “satisfied that the ends of justice have been met.”

A motion filed earlier said prosecutors were moving to drop the charges after meeting with the child’s mother and reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the case.

The accused, Mahendra Patel, had disputed the charges and said he had only been trying to help the mother during the March 18 incident, which sparked allegations of racial bias and drew nearly 100,000 signatures in an online petition calling for justice.

Speaking outside the courtroom Wednesday, Patel told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV of Atlanta that he was “relieved” at the outcome.

“This thing was hanging on my head for a long time,” he told the station. “Our family went through a lot of hell.”

Patel, 57, was indicted in April on charges of criminal attempt to commit kidnapping, simple assault and simple battery after authorities accused him of trying to pull the 2-year-old from his mother during the encounter in Acworth.

Patel was jailed for six weeks on the charges. He was released on $10,000 bond in May.

An arrest warrant said that the parent, Caroline Miller, was able to get her son back after “wrestling” him away from Patel. She told a local news outlet that they were “tug of warring” over the toddler.

But security video released by Patel’s lawyer appeared to contradict that account.

The video showed him speaking to Miller while she was in a mobility scooter. At one point, the child — who was sitting in his mother’s lap — appeared to slip. Patel told authorities that he had been asking Miller where he could find Tylenol when he tried to help stabilize the child.

“Mr. Patel offered to hold the baby while she got up to show him where the Tylenol was,” his lawyer said at a hearing earlier this year.