Court records: Man tried to shove teen into luggage at Vancouver Target

A Vancouver man is facing a kidnapping allegation after trying to shove a 16-year-old girl into luggage at a local Target store, according to court records.

Francis Anthony Azzarella II, 29, appeared Monday morning in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation. Judge Gregory Gonzales set Azzarella’s bail at $125,000. He will be arraigned Oct. 15.

Vancouver police were dispatched around 8:40 p.m. Saturday to the Target at 7809 N.E. Vancouver Plaza Drive, Suite C for a report of an assault that had just occurred. The officer contacted the 16-year-old girl in the loss prevention office, the affidavit says.

The teen said that while she was shopping in the electronics department with her friend, an unknown man, later identified by police as Azzarella, approached them. Azzarella was carrying luggage from the store and set it on the floor, court records state.

He then grabbed the girl and tried pushing her into the luggage. The teen’s friend pulled her away. When she asked what he was doing, Azzarella allegedly said, “I’m trying to fit her sexy (expletive) in here,” according to the affidavit.

Another shopper, Samuel White, intervened and escorted Azzarella away from the girls, court records say.

The teen told police she was in fear and believed Azzarella was trying to kidnap her, the affidavit states.