By Aaron Burgin, The Porterville Recorder
The Tulare County District Attorney will not pursue charges against a man suspected in an April 26 alleged attempted abduction of a 17-year-old girl, Porterville police said Monday night.

The District Attorney’s office did not file charges against Adam Norris, 35, of Las Vegas, who police said tried to pick up a girl on her way to school near Monache High School.

While Assistant District Attorney Carol Turner was unavailable for comment, Porterville Sgt. Duanne Griffin said he was surprised that charges were not filed. “You never know, sometimes they don’t pick up cases for whatever reason,” Griffin said. Norris was in custody in Tulare County Main Jail since Thursday before appearing before Tulare County Superior Court Judge Stephen Drew at the County Pre-Trial Facility.

Shortly before 3:45 p.m. Thursday, the girl reportedly told police that a white man in a red Dodge van approached her as walked in the 1900 block of West Henderson Avenue and asked if she wanted a ride. After refusing the invitation, the man reportedly drove off and made a U-turn at Mathew Street and Henderson and again offered the girl a ride.

Frightened, the girl reportedly refused the man’s advances but was able to obtain a partial license plate and description before the man left the area.

Police later were able to locate the van in the 2200 block of West Putnam Avenue, where they identified and arrested Norris. He was booked at the Tulare County Main Jail.

Norris was visiting relatives in Porterville, according to a statement from the department. However, police believe the incident was unrelated to a string of attempted kidnappings that occurred earlier this month, for which they arrested two suspects last week. When asked if this would change the department’s tactics toward suspects who they believe threaten Porterville students, Griffin emphatically said no. “This will in no way change how we do business,” Griffin said. “If we feel that someone is a threat, we will arrest them, the rest is up to the [district attorney’s] office, and we do not control their decisions.”

This story was published in The Porterville Recorder on May 1, 2007