BRIDGETON – A Pennsylvania man accused of trying to lure a child out of a Wawa on Route 47 in Dorchester, Cumberland County, was released from jail June 2, a Press of Atlantic City article said.
The article quoted court officials saying the state withdrew its motion for detention against Joseph Thomas Cannon, 79, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, after he was arrested last week.
Cannon had been ordered to be detained in the Cumberland County jail after being arrested in Cape May, where he was located after the incident.
The Press quoted the affidavit of probable cause from the arrest, saying Cannon met the 7-year-old boy in the men’s room at around 12:20 p.m., May 28, when he allegedly offered the boy candy in an attempt to lure the boy to his vehicle.
After the boy refused, Cannon allegedly grabbed the boy’s arm, but the boy managed to get free and ran into the women’s restroom where his mother was at the time. The boy’s family looked for the man but was unable to locate him, The Press said.
New Jersey State Police (NJSP) later released store surveillance footage of the man, as well as an artist’s sketch and footage of his vehicle.
New Jersey State Police Sgt. Philip Curry told the Herald, June 5, that Cannon’s white Toyota 4Runner, also found in Cape May, was impounded.
Cannon is charged with abuse or neglect of a child, according to a criminal complaint filed June 1.
He is due in Cumberland County Superior Court at a later date, but no first appearance hearing was listed on court records, The Press reported.
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