GREAT FALLS — Aleesha Mae Kempa has been charged in Great Falls after she allegedly tried to take a child from a vehicle.
Court documents say that police were called to on Thursday afternoon to Auto Zone on 4th Street NE for a report of suspicious activity.
A man at the scene said he was inside the store with his son when a woman, later identified as Kempa, walked up to his juvenile son, picked him up, and hugged the child.
The father told the woman to let go of his son, and she complied and left the store.
When the man and his girlfriend were leaving the store, Kempa allegedly pushed past the girlfriend as she was buckling the child into his car seat; Kempa then reportedly grabbed the child and tried to take him from the car.
Kempa walked away when confronted and left in a vehicle driven by an acquaintance. Police were able to find the vehicle in the parking lot of the Airway Motel on the southwest side of town, and Kempa and the man who drove her away were taken to the Great Falls Police Department to be questioned.
Court documents say that Kempa told police that the little boy reminded her of her son, and said that she tried to take the boy out of the car so that she could give him a hug.
The man told police that Kempa has schizophrenia and is not currently on her medication, and said, "She does uncommon things - she has walked into houses before."
Kempa has been charged with attempted kidnapping (felony) and criminal trespass to vehicle (misdemeanor). Prosecutors requested that bail be set at $17,500.
NOTE: The information above is from court documents and/or publicly-available information filed in the case, and does not necessarily provide all of the information relevant to the case. Defendants are considered legally innocent until proven guilty in court.
