A jury is now deliberating the fate of a man accused of kidnapping a 6-year-old girl who told police she was grabbed and slapped while playing outside her Miami apartment.

Leonardo Venegas, 34, was arrested in July 2023 and charged with kidnapping now 9-year-old Ah’Lyric. Prosecutors say he snatched the child and slapped her before fleeing the scene.

Surveillance video shows Venegas allegedly roaming an apartment complex in northeast Miami-Dade around July 4 and July 6 of 2023. Prosecutors said that on July 4, Venegas waved at the child as she watched fireworks, trying to lure her toward him. After that failed attempt, they said he returned two days later in a more “aggressive” manner.

According to an arrest report, the now 9-year-old Ah’Lyric was playing in her apartment courtyard wi

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