ACWORTH, Ga., Aug. 6, 2025 — Charges against Mahendra Patel, the man accused of attempting to kidnap a toddler from an Acworth Walmart earlier this year, were formally dismissed Wednesday after prosecutors moved to drop the case.
Patel, 57, was arrested in March after a mother, Caroline Miller, alleged he tried to take her 2‑year‑old child while she was shopping at the Walmart off Cobb Parkway. The indictment initially charged him with criminal attempt to commit kidnapping — later amended to attempted kidnapping — along with simple assault and simple battery, accusing Patel of causing “violent injury” by pulling on the child. Miller told investigators she was able to keep hold of her child, and that Patel ran off afterward.
Patel spent 45 days in jail before being released on a $10,000 bond in May. Throughout the case, he and his attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, maintained his innocence. Merchant challenged Miller’s credibility and pointed to store surveillance footage, which she argued showed Patel assisting the woman and not attempting to take the child…