Man arrested at Kings Island for allegedly trying to kidnap child had 4k rounds of ammo

Ugh. This took the stupidity path a little too quickly.

He could've easily gotten a gun in with the metal dectors operational too.

I could argue that the false sense of security provided by metal detectors cause people to lower their guard and end up making it more dangerous in the long run...but I won't. :)

And like Dave said - this was stopped. There was no incident. No one was harmed. The lack of metal detectors did not create a situation.

ThatStrangeKid42 said:
I'm saying an amusement park is full of people; therefore all safety precautions should be taken.

This is the scariest thing I've ever heard a young person say.

Apart from being a dangerous and twisted individual, this dude is clearly also an idiot. From Diamondback to the parking lot has to be four-tenths of a mile, at least. This through high visibility, high traffic areas, probably past hundreds of guests and dozens of employees. Not exactly the low-hanging fruit, as far as kidnappings go.

Unless, of course, this guy is a learned observer of human psychology and understands bystander theory, wherein the more people witness someone in distress, the less likely anyone is to intervene. In which case, the middle of Kings Island might very well be one of the best places to kidnap a tyke for predatory ends.

But I'm gonna go with 'idiot'...

He may not have been planning on taking the kid out of the park. There are restrooms in that area.

That's kinda scary...

Restrooms are scary?

Have you ever been to Knoebel's? Kozmo is not your friend in there.

The report does not say that this man actually had his hands on a child, only that he was acting suspicious. So, if he is going to face any charges, it will most likely be for the firearms, as he was apparently not supposed to have a firearm at all, and since he did not have the weapon when he was in the park, there is no indication that he meant to hurt anyone. However, with the weapon, and the video ready glasses, I think there is more going on here.

Maybe he was there to kidnap a specific child, and maybe hired to do so. You see these cases on the news, where some person going through a custody battle, will hire a stranger to kidnap their child, then go on the run. Seems like an awful lot of stuff for the average child molester to have.

Though he could also be involved in child pornography. There was a guy who was caught at a movie theater, with a hidden camera in his fanny pack, and he was taking video and photographs of boys and men using the restroom. And, the only reason he was arrested, was because an employee of the theater concession stand, noticed him hanging around outside the restroom door, and following boys in the bathroom many times.

When they went to his house, they found he had a ton of similar videos in his house, and on his computer. And, they also found out he had a website, and a customer base of over 200, which also lead to the arrest of 5 other guys on his list that were doing the same thing. The scary thing about that, is you can buy those kinds of cameras anywhere, so you never know who is watching you, or why. I think that is why a lot of men's rooms now have a privacy wall between the urinals, and metal stall walls.

I think he got sentenced to 10 years in prison. So, you never know.

No, Timber-Rider, the news story doesn't specifically say that the man had his hands on a child, but it does say that he was accused of trying to snatch a child. I don't think one can be accused of trying to snatch a child unless one actually chases a kid and attempts to grab them.

A 37-year-old Texas trucker accused of trying to snatch a child at Kings Island...

...Police originally said they found a loaded firearm in his semitrailer as well as children’s videos and toys, a police-style baton, Taser and non-licensed prescription medication.

I enjoyed your assumptions of what could be going on besides him being a kiddy-diddler. It makes the story seem possibly a little less creepy. You could be right, because of the weapons and how well-thought out his actions were. I still consider this guy to be pretty evil though, because of the other stuff found in his van. I sure that many of us would have loved to be the person who probably tackled him to the ground during his failed kidnapping attempt.

So guns and ammo make someone evil now?

Well, that and the kidnapping thing.

And a prior record (of some type).

Yeah, but I was to the following comment:

I still consider this guy to be pretty evil though, because of the other stuff found in his van.

They found ammo and guns in his van. The stalking of children and prior issues definitely make him a bad guy, but having ammo in your vehicle makes you evil? I guess the majority of hunters are evil.

Guns and ammo do not make someone evil.

Guns and 4000 rounds of ammo make someone very dangerous.

Reiterating for Tekno:

...Police originally said they found a loaded firearm in his semitrailer as well as children’s videos and toys, a police-style baton, Taser and non-licensed prescription medication.

I'm sorry if I insinuated that the guns make the guy evil. What I was inferring was that a man who is out to kidnap children had in his van children's videos and toys, to appease the child while he drives him-her to another location, a police-style baton to hit the child with, a taser to electrocute the child with, and drugs to subdue the child when he want him/her to be quiet. I'm sure that there are other uses for those items as well, but using them on the child that he snatches is what made me think of evil, not the ammunition and weapons, which could be used to wound or kill people who may be trying to stop him from carrying out his nonferrous plans. Like Hawkeye said, guns and ammunition makes this man very dangerous.

My imagination runs wild at what those items could be used for in his scheme. Toys to make the child happy, and a taser to electrocute the child if he/she misbehaves, and drugs to make the child sleep or not care about what is happening. It just sounds like he planned this situation well, or was a pro and has done this kind of thing before.

Ensign Smith said:

Unless, of course, this guy is a learned observer of human psychology and understands bystander theory, wherein the more people witness someone in distress, the less likely anyone is to intervene.

That sentence almost sounds like a plot line from an episode of Seinfeld. They probably wouldn't do it though. You just can't send Jerry to jail.

One question: The article mentions an attempted child snatching, but there is no mention of any such incident. Did this guy get caught trying to do something? Or did he get arrested for merely being creepy? Because if that is the case, we should probably all be disturbed. This guy might well be a creep, but being creepy is not illegal unless you try to pull something.

Interesting to note that all the items found in the truck would probably also be found in many other vehicles in a 100-acre parking lot. Just not all in combination.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The article says:

Mason police arrested Grisham at the park July 3 after someone reported him acting suspiciously in the area of the Diamondback roller coaster.

My guess is that someone reported him being creepy. Upon further questioning they found out he was on parole and dug a little deeper. That's when the crap hit the fan.

I wonder what evidence they have of him "trying to snatch a child", unless he actually tried to snatch a child. If he was there just looking at the children, it is not really against the law. Creepy, yes. If he tried to kidnap a kid, I would think that it would be a big part of the story, now that I think about it.

As for the taser, police baton, medication, and children's toys and DVDs, were they laid out in such a way as to be ready to be used in a kidnapping situation? Were there other items that could be used for a kidnapping, such as duct tape or rope, or a blindfold? Unfortunately for the curious, this story is too vague.

How, exactly, would items be "laid out in such a way as to be ready to be used in a kidnapping situation?" Would the baton be more or less accessible than the taser? Would the medication be on top of or beneath the DVDs?

Having those items merely accessible is disconcerting. I don't care if he has them arranged in alphabetical order.

OTOH, if you have a plausible explanation of how tasers, batons & 4000 rounds of ammo might be used in an "innocent" manner, I'd love to hear it. :)

Maybe Ohio deer are very tough to bag and he was using "Bambi" to lure them into a multi-faceted trap.

Maybe he was hunting Rasputin?