Police arrested a convicted drug dealer only days from when he had been ordered to begin his “community work program” after a reported attempted kidnapping of a child at a Boren Ave apartment building Saturday night.

According to police, the child’s father called 911 just before 10 PM Saturday to report the attempted kidnapping by a stranger. Police say the man told officers that the child had been playing outside at the apartment building in the 100 block of Boren Avenue “when an unknown man walked up to the child, picked him up, and began to run away.”

“The parent began yelling at the suspect who was approximately 125 feet away when the suspect dropped the child and continued to flee,” the SPD brief on the incident reads.

The father of the child was able to provide a thorough description of the man seen running from the scene and police located him immediately nearby the building.

CHS is not identifying the suspect because he not been charged but court records show he was busted on drug charges after being arrested last fall when police found him squatting in an E Jefferson building. Prosecutors described the man as a drug addict who had “progressed from drug possession to active drug dealing of crack cocaine.” According to court records he pleaded guilty to the drug charges earlier this month and had been ordered to begin the work release component of his 10-day sentence on Thursday, two days before the alleged attempt to take the child.

UPDATE 6/27/18: Police say they got the wrong man:

After further investigation, SPD detectives are now seeking a separate suspect in the case. Surveillance cameras captured a man in a white and red baseball cap and dark clothing at the scene several hours before the incident, and police are now seeking the public’s help in identifying him. The man initially arrested in the incident based on information from a witness has been cleared in the case. If you have any information about this case or recognize the suspect, please call (206) 233-5000.