Man who grabbed 6-year-old boy at Coastland Center mall gets 2 years in prison

A man who picked up a 6-year-old boy at Coastland Center mall in May and tried to walk off with him will spend the next two years in state prison.

Donald Emerson Hayes, 46, pleaded no contest Friday to a charge of interfering with the custody of a minor and was sentenced to 24 months in prison, with credit for 139 days served, according to court records.

Hayes also was banned from the Naples mall and ordered not to have any further contact with the boy or his mother.

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Witnesses told Naples police officers they saw Hayes acting “tweaky” and giving off “a weird vibe” at the mall May 20. At one point, witnesses said, they heard Hayes tell a family of four, “I will pay you $100 if you talk to me,” according to an arrest report.

Hayes then followed the family through the mall before approaching the 6-year-old boy, picking him up and walking away with him. After walking about five store lengths with the boy, Hayes dropped him but “continued to harass him and call him by his name and bribe him with money” before eventually walking away, a witness told police.

The St. Matthew’s House homeless shelter in East Naples was listed as Hayes’ address at the time of his arrest in May.

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