Man charged with attempted kidnapping of girl, 14, in Las Vegas

While walking to her school bus stop early Monday, a 14-year-old girl encountered a man who said “she looked like his dead sister” and then he grabbed her, according to the his arrest report.

Afraid she was going to be kidnapped, the teen pushed him away, screamed and ran to her bus stop near Tropicana Avenue and Procyon Street. She called her dad, who called 911.

About an hour later, Las Vegas police officers found 23-year-old Nieko Ganier about a half-mile away, near Interstate 15. He matched the description given by the teen.

As police took Ganier into custody, according to the report, officers found a “revolver type pellet gun” in his jacket pocket.

Denied bail, court and jail records show, Ganier remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of first-degree attempted kidnapping of a minor and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

After his arrest, Ganier told police he was walking toward the Strip around 6:15 a.m. along Tropicana when he saw “an unknown male following” the teen, “so he approached to see if she was ok.”

“He said he never touched her but did admit he gave her his business card,” the report said.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for March 16, court records show.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.