A man who was arrested last month, accused of trying to kidnap a teenage girl just a block from the Coronado police station, was spotted nearby parked across the street from the community's high school on Monday after he was released from custody with the charges against him dropped.
Police said on Tuesday said that prosecutors had decided not to charge Nan Wang, 45, a native of Trona, California, which is in Central California northeast of Bakersfield.
"The district attorney's office has decided not to pursue charges in this case," a representative for the Coronado Police Department told NBC 7. "Our officers made consensual contact with the individual today, and as of now, they are legally parked on a public street."
NBC 7 received the following statement from a spokeswoman for the San Diego County District Attorney's office expanding on the decision not to prosecute: "No charges were filed in connection with this incident. We can only file charges when we believe we can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt."
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After Wang was spotted parked near Coronado High, the island's school district sent out an email addressed to parents and guardians of students that said, in part:
"Today, we became aware that the car the man was using during the kidnapping attempt was spotted parked across the street from Coronado High School. CUSD staff and CPD monitored the vehicle during the day. While this is unsettling, the car is legally permitted to be parked on a public street."
The note to the school community added that families should "remind your students to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings, to report suspicious activity to a trusted adult and/or to contact the police department, and to be cautious of interactions with strangers."
Local
The arrest in Coronado
Emergency dispatchers in Coronado got a call on Sept. 27 from a high-school-aged girl who said a man had tried to kidnap her.
The report came in around 1:30 p.m. from the 16-year-old, who said she was waiting for a bus near the library park area in the center of town when a man parked and walked up to her, then demanded she get into his car. When the teen refused, she told the police, he grabbed her arm but she broke free and ran to safety and called 911.
The quick-thinking girl was able to give police both a description of the car and its license plate, and responding officers found it about a block away a short time later, police said.
Wang had been charged with attempted kidnapping and annoying/molesting a child and was held on $100,000 bail.
Anybody with information about the case is being urged to call Coronado Police at (619) 522-7350.
