CORNELIUS, OR — A Cornelius man has been arrested and indicted following a reported attempted kidnapping inside a Walmart store late last month, according to a media release from law enforcement.

Authorities say the incident occurred Sunday, December 21, 2025, around 7:48 p.m. at the Walmart located at 220 N. Adair Street. Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and officers from Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Forest Grove police departments responded after a caller reported that a man attempted to take a child from a stroller inside the store and was armed with a knife.

According to investigators, the child’s father intervened and prevented the suspect from removing the child. During the confrontation, the father was injured. Police say the suspect pulled a knife from his pocket during the struggle but dropped it.

Before officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene in a white Jeep. A witness provided the vehicle’s license plate number, which led officers to identify the registered owner as 37-year-old Denis Villalobos of Cornelius. Villalobos was located a short distance from the Walmart and arrested by a Forest Grove police officer. He was later lodged in the Washington County Jail.

On December 29, 2025, a Washington County grand jury returned an indictment charging Villalobos with attempted kidnapping in the second degree, assault in the second degree, assault in the fourth degree, unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing.

Anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken with deputies is asked to contact the Cornelius Police Department through non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 57-25-1325.