By Michael Hudak, Kevin Boulandier
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MIAMI, Florida (WSVN) — A 16-year-old girl is recounting the story of an attempted abduction she experienced in South Miami.
Valerie shared her account with 7News on Thursday. The teen said a man tried to drag her into his car, and she fought him back in an attempt to break free from his grip.
“He just screamed, ‘Shush,’ and he went for my arm,” she said.
Still too shaken up to show her face on camera for the interview, Valerie instead showed 7News cameras the injuries she suffered while she fought off her attacker.
“I punched him in the face. I kicked him in the lower body, a lot,” she said.
The teen said the scary incident happened in broad daylight on Thursday as she was walking down Southwest 86th Street while on the phone with her friends.
That’s when, she said, the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Brian Gamboa, pulled up next to her in his car.
“He stopped and came out of the car, and he was drunk. Really wobbly,” she recalled.
Valerie said the man pushed her to the ground to get a better hold of her, but she wouldn’t let him take her without a fight.
“I pushed him off with this leg, so I can’t bend this knee right now, and then I started hitting him with my phone, which is broken,” she said. “I got up as quickly as I could. When I got free, I kicked him, and I got up and ran to a neighbor.”
She called South Miami Police who responded quickly.
Detectives immediately put a “be on the lookout” for Gamboa.
Ultimately, he was caught and taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office just over a quarter-mile away.
Valerie said she was lucky to have gotten out of that situation.
“It was really scary. I’m OK, except the fact that my knee is messed up. Like, I’m OK. I got pretty lucky; like, it could have been way worse for me,” she said. “I didn’t want to have a story like that. I didn’t want to have his impact on my life like that, so I was just fighting.”
Gamboa faced Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Thursday after he was charged with attempted kidnapping and battery of a child.
“Good afternoon, sir. You were arrested for battery on a child,” said Glazer.
Gamboa posted his bond on Thursday night, but he won’t be released until he is fitted for an ankle monitor.
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