Man who briefly grabbed child in classroom, carried him toward door sentenced

HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) — A 29-year-old man who briefly grabbed a child from an Oregon classroom, then set him down and ran off has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The Oregonian reports that Joshua Alan Brown pleaded guilty last week to attempted first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping. Washington County prosecutor Kevin Barton said Brown told police he had used meth and "could have been high."

Class had just ended on Feb. 19, when Brown entered Joseph Gale Elementary School in the Portland suburb of Forest Grove, went into a third-grade classroom, picked up a 9-year-old boy and carried him to the doorway. A teacher told Brown to put the boy down and he did.

The principal and an instructional aide chased Brown from the school into the surrounding neighborhood, where police caught up with him.

Court records show Brown has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for theft, meth possession, unauthorized use of a vehicle and attempted robbery.