Hempstead mother made up kidnapping tale, police say

A Hempstead woman is accused of lying to police by making up an attempted kidnapping tale Tuesday to cover up the fact that her child was unrestrained in his stroller and fell out, suffering scrapes and bruises, authorities said.

Jeymi Guerra Cordova, 23, is charged with making a punishable false written statement, Nassau County police said in a news release Saturday morning.

She was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Saturday and released on her own recognizance without bail, according to online court records. Her defense attorney's information was not available. She is set to return to court on Jan. 31.

Cordova told police that she was pushing her 1-year-old son in his stroller along Fulton Avenue in West Hempstead when a man jumped in front of the stroller and grabbed the boy, authorities said. Cordova told police that she struggled with the would-be kidnapper and the man threw the child to the ground before fleeing, authorities said.

The boy suffered scrapes and a large bump on his forehead — injuries that police now say he suffered when he fell out of the stroller because he was unrestrained. He was treated at a hospital and released, authorities said at the time.

Third Squad detectives re-interviewed Cordova and she admitted fabricating her story, police said.

With John Asbury