DELAND, Fla. -- A man accused of trying to kidnap a 5-year-old boy from a DeLand apartment building went before a judge Thursday.

  • Aung Pyo arrested Wednesday in DeLand
  • Accused of trying to walk away with a boy at an apartment complex
  • Accused of trying to get in the boy's house to take him

Aung Pyo, 26, is accused of approaching the boy outside his family's apartment on Spring Garden Avenue Wednesday. The boy's mother told deputies that Pyo grabbed the child by the left arm and tried to walk away.

"It happened so fast. We only (saw) him when he walked up. He kept saying, 'The child, the child. Is he in danger?'" said Gary, the boy's stepfather. 

Gary said it started in this courtyard area where he was hanging out with friends. When he sent his stepson into the house, Pyo allegedly grabbed the kid's arm and kept going after him.

When the boy's uncle and the mother's boyfriend confronted Pyo, according to deputies, Pyo said, "I want your son."

Deputies also say that once the boy was brought inside, Pyo ran to the door, tried to get inside and tried to get the boy to come out of the house.

The boy's mother called 911 in a panic.

"This grown man that I don't know grabbed my son and is trying to get my 5-year-old son out of the house," said the mother.

Deputies say Pyo appeared to be drunk when he was arrested.

"Nobody knows him. Nobody (has) ever seen him before," Gary said.

A judge on Thursday set bond for Pyo at $260,000. He also faces charges of child abuse without great bodily harm and burglary of an occupied structure.

This is the second attempted kidnapping this week in Volusia County. On Monday, 34-year-old Sarah Freeman was charged with trying to grab two children in Wilbur-by-the-Sea.

While Gary said he doesn't know what Pyo's motive was, he believes jail is the right place for him.

"I guess that's the best spot for him right now because you don't just go and put your hands on people's kids," said Gary.