A Michigan man accused of attempting to kidnap two girls made an obscene gesture towards their families in court as he reconsidered a plea deal, according to reports.
Endi Bala, 25, was present at a Mount Clemens courthouse regarding the attempted kidnapping in August 2024. It was initially anticipated that he would plead no contest, but he unexpectedly changed his mind, as reported by the Macomb Daily.
Bala, who is originally from Albania and moved to the United States as a teenager, allegedly attempted to abduct Olivia and Alexis, aged 7 and 15 at the time, within a span of 45 minutes. He faces charges of kidnapping and child enticement.
Bala had reportedly agreed to a plea deal but reconsidered before entering the courtroom.
“You don’t want to enter a plea today?” asked presiding judge Matthew Sabaugh.
“No,” Bala responded, shaking his head.
“The plan was to enter into the pleas today, but unfortunately after our conference in chambers, he has changed his mind for the time being,” explained his attorney, Samuel Bennett.
During the court hearing, Bala was disruptive, prompting his lawyer to tell him, “Shut your mouth,” according to WDIV.
“You are not going to communicate with anyone in the gallery, sir,” Judge Sabaugh snapped.
As Bala was being escorted out of the courtroom, he allegedly made an obscene gesture at the families of the girls.
“Unbelievable,” said Coryne Childers, Olivia’s mother, expressing disbelief.
“How is it OK for him to turn and flick us off, smile at us, yet if we say one thing, we’re threatened, we’re going to get kicked out of court? How is that OK?
“You’re the one that did this… but you can sit there, smile at us, flick us off, and that’s OK?”
Bala also reportedly made a sarcastic remark to Alecia Swejkowski, Olivia’s aunt, regarding her son’s birthday that coincided with his next court date.
“Happy birthday to your son,” he said.
Bala faces a potential life sentence if convicted on charges of kidnapping and child enticement.
He allegedly forced Alexis into his car while she was walking on Clinton River Road in Clinton Township.
“He asked if he could walk me home twice and I refused both times, and I started walking off,” Alexis recounted to WXYZ.
“He got out of the car, grabbed my wrist, he said, ‘I’m going to mess you up.’”
Paul Billiter, a bystander doing yard work at the time, rushed to assist, enabling the girl to escape.
“She was just screaming like the way a dog would howl. She was terribly frightened,” he described.
Bala allegedly then approached Olivia, who was biking in Sterling Heights with Swejkowski, before grabbing her and attempting to force her into his car.
Bala attempted to push the girl into the passenger side of his vehicle, but Swejkowski recounted meeting him halfway and engaging in a struggle for the child’s life.
“I was punched on top of my head. He had one hand on her and one hand trying to get the wheel,” she said.
“I had one hand on the wheel, trying to get his hand off of her, and we went back and forth.”
He then attempted to drive away, but another driver blocked his car, allowing Swejkowski’s niece to escape.
“It was the craziest moment of our lives,” Swejkowski recalled.
Bala’s pretrial hearing is scheduled for August 24, with a potential trial date set for October.
The families have urged the judge to set a trial date.
Bala was deemed competent to stand trial despite a psychiatrist previously ruling he was “legally insane” at the time of the alleged incidents, as noted by the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge Sabaugh had previously rejected a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
“Let’s just go to trial in October and be done with it because these are just games he is playing,” Alexis’ grandmother, Lori DeMars, commented.
“He didn’t get his own way with the judge… So he throws a fit like a 2-year-old,” she added.
Bala has been in jail for nearly two years and has been accused of vandalism during his incarceration.
He allegedly smeared feces on a cell phone used by inmates, destroyed a tablet purchased for him, and flooded his cell.
DeMars claimed that the families were informed by Immigration Custom Enforcement that Bala would be deported after serving any potential prison sentence.
However, Swejkowski has called for a life sentence, expressing concern about the safety of children.
“I don’t want him harming any child here. I don’t want him harming any child in Albania,” she stated.
