Man accused of stalking boy in Yavapai County arrested
Jun 28, 2023, 4:15 AM
Michael Herron, 35, of Bagdad, is accused of stalking a minor boy in Bagdad, Arizona. (Yavapai County Sherriff's Office)
(Yavapai County Sherriff's Office)
PHOENIX — A Bagdad man is in jail for allegedly stalking a minor boy last week, according to the Yavapai County Sherriff’s Office.
The boy’s mother called officials at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday to report a red Ford Explorer driver tried to coerce her son into his car. It wasn’t the first time she reached out to authorities.
Two days earlier, she called the police about the same vehicle. She said a man approached her son and friend, stating “You guys are gonna get kidnapped” and following the boy home, according to a press release.
Deputies were not able to find the vehicle in the initial incident. However, at 5:30 p.m., the mother called authorities about the suspect, 35-year-old Michael Herren, stopping his car and attempting to talk with her son.
The boy’s brother said he heard someone in the car say, “Hey little buddy.” The boy’s brother yelled at him to run, the release stated.
After the kids alerted the mother of the interaction, she got into her car and followed the vehicle but eventually lost it on Campwood Road.
Authorities said they spotted the vehicle later that day on the same road and began following it.
When the vehicle came to a stop, a deputy approached the driver and told him the sheriff’s office received a report of a vehicle matching his description speeding through town. The driver denied that he was speeding, according to the press release.
Another deputy at the scene took pictures of the car and texted them to the mother. She identified the car and described the suspect.
The description matched Herron — at which point deputies informed him he was being detained.
Deputies also sent Herron’s photo to the mother and she identified him as the man who scared her son.
Herron is in custody and booked on a class 5 felony charge of stalking.
