It was supposed to be a night of baseball and family fun for Shari Boone and her family.
But after getting off the light rail, the night turned to chaos after she says a man tried to grab her 7-year-old daughter.
Boone and her husband were able to keep the man away from their daughter, but they needed help. Boone says she flagged down a security guard. That man was Casey Smith.
"A woman who saw my vehicle was jumping up and down and waving at me. I drove up and asked her if she needed help and at that point she said 'Yes, someone tried to steal my kid,'" said Smith.
Smith says he was off-duty but he still sprung into action so he could help the Boones. He admits he tried to calm the man down and keep him in the area until cops came. But things turned violent, and the man tried to fight him. So Smith, who says he weighs at least 300 pounds, held him down.
"I just rolled the person over and then sat on them. Literally just jumped on their back and sat on them put their hands behind them until the police arrived," said Smith.
Smith says Phoenix police arrived in minutes. He adds that officers told him the guy may have gotten away if he hadn't intervened.
"I would want someone to do the same thing for me. This day and age everything is so volatile. People are getting taken from different states and everything else and it's just really hard not to help people," said Smith.
The suspect faces a charge of misdemeanor assault for pushing the husband. But detectives told Boone he's not facing attempted kidnapping charges because he didn't touch their daughter.
The man is not in jail. Phoenix police were not able to provide an update on the case Saturday night.
ABC15 is waiting for more case details from Phoenix police before releasing his name and mug shot, however we have learned he’s been arrested 54 times, mostly for public intoxication, drinking in public and assault.
