Long Beach social worker indicted on charges she tried to kidnap baby from stroller

A licensed clinical social worker, charged with trying to abduct a 14-month-old from her stroller in Long Beach while falsely insisting that the child was hers, before being tackled by the baby's 79-year-old great-grandfather, was arraigned Thursday.

Heather Magone, 40, of Long Beach, pleaded not guilty in Nassau County Court in Mineola to a grand jury indictment, which included charges of second-degree kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.

Supreme Court Justice Robert Bogle ordered Magone held on $10,000 bail or $50,000 bond and continued supervision with an ankle monitor. Two orders of protection were also issued.

"This defendant’s alleged actions were deeply disturbing and played out every family’s worst nightmare," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. "A great-grandfather and his great-granddaughter were simply enjoying an afternoon stroll in their neighborhood when Heather Magone allegedly tried to tear the ... child from her stroller. Thanks to his quick-thinking and heroic intervention, the child’s great-grandfather was able to prevent the unthinkable."

Magone, who is due back in court on June 23, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

The social worker told authorities that she was high during the April 6 incident, prosecutors said. Magone has tested positive for marijuana three times since her arrest, Bogle said during the hearing.

Magone's defense lawyer, Lloyd Nadel, said his client had undergone drug and psychiatric evaluation at South Oaks Hospital at the suggestion of the court and that her most recent drug test was negative.

"We told our story in the grand jury," Nadel said. "They came out and indicted her, but that's only a probable cause to believe she committed a crime. Obviously, she's entitled to a trial."

The confrontation began at the intersection of Laurelton Boulevard and West Penn Street when the great-grandfather, who regularly takes care of the child when the mother is working, was on a walk with the infant, prosecutors said.

Magone had been walking a dog — barefoot, according to the baby's father — before she approached the stroller from behind, started unbuckling the safety straps and attempted to take the baby, police said.

"This is my child. I have a license," Magone told the great-grandfather, according to charging documents.

Magone has no relationship to the child.

The great-grandfather was able to wrestle Magone to the ground, but she scratched, bit and assaulted him, police said.

During the struggle, Magone ripped the great-grandfather’s hands off the stroller, which overturned with the baby strapped inside, police said.

Magone continued to resist and reach for the stroller until the great-grandfather restrained her on the ground until Long Beach police arrived, authorities said.

Officers, who received multiple calls about the incident, arrested Magone, authorities said.

Even after police arrived on the scene, Magone attempted to remove the toddler from the stroller, unzipping and ripping the child’s sleep sack, prosecutors said.

The child's father, who lives in Long Beach, said he and his partner arrived on the scene to find Magone handcuffed and the great-grandfather "with blood dripping from his face."

The child was not hurt in the altercation. The great-grandfather suffered minor scratches and bruises but declined to be seen by paramedics, according to the child's father.

Nadel said during the arraignment that he believed the case could be resolved through a treatment program.

"She's in a program," the attorney said. "She sees a counselor a few times a week."

Magone is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist with a practice in Long Beach.

The child's mother, who attended the hearing, declined to comment.

"She claims that she was taking drugs," Donnelly said of Magone in an interview. "She was smoking marijuana or taking something with marijuana in it. She claimed that she had taken some kind of candy. ... We haven't gotten to the bottom of that, but if she is addicted to drugs. I'm glad she's getting the help she needs."