- A Salt Lake man, Tony Arnold Bernstone, faces child kidnapping and child abuse charges.
- He is accused of chasing and attacking a 12-year-old boy who "doorbell ditched" him.
- Prosecutors describe his reaction as "over the top" in charging documents.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man is facing serious criminal charges after police say he chased after a 12-year-old boy who "doorbell ditched" him and forcefully held the boy until his parents arrived.
Tony Arnold Bernstone, 58, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and child abuse, a class A misdemeanor.
"(Bernstone's) reaction to what is perceived to be a silly childhood game of ding-dong ditch was concerning and over the top," prosecutors wrote in charging documents.
On Aug. 1, a 12-year-old boy and his friends rang the doorbell at Bernstone's Sugar House home and then ran away. Bernstone reacted by getting on a bicycle and chasing after the boys, the charges state.
He caught up with the 12-year-old boy at an elementary school, "grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against a gate. Bernstone then slapped him in the face multiple times and struck him in the stomach with a 'gut punch,'" meaning he was hit with a closed fist, according to the charges.
The boy says Bernstone then forced him to call his parents while holding onto his shirt so he couldn't run away.
Another 12-year-old boy described to police that after Bernstone got off his bike, he told the first boy he was going to "beat the living shiz out of you," then grabbed the boy, the charging documents say. The boy said he heard three "slaps" as he ran across the street to call his parents. He said it appeared Bernstone was "squeezing the back of (his friend's) neck or holding the back of his shirt so (he) 'wouldn't get away,'" and then watched Bernstone "drag" his friend to a gas station to meet his parents.
When Bernstone was questioned by police, he said he "slapped his mouth a couple times" but claimed he "didn't punch" the boy, instead giving him "just light little slaps," according to the court documents.
"(Bernstone), after having his doorbell rang, chased after minors who were running away, and when he caught up to one, detained the victim for the purposes of assaulting him multiple times, and also grabbed the victim's shirt, forced him to the ground, then forced the victim to walk with him until he was able to be reconnected to his parents," prosecutors summarized in the charges against Bernstone.
