COBB COUNTY, GA — A man who has been jailed for weeks after being accused of trying to kidnap a toddler in an Acworth Walmart has been granted bond in a Cobb County courtroom Tuesday afternoon.

Superior Court Judge Gregory Poole set Mahendra Patel’s bond at $10,000.

Patel’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant launched the hearing saying Walmart video disputes the accuser’s story and will prove why he’s not only not a flight risk or a threat to the community, but not a criminal at all.

According to Merchant, Patel approached the mother who was using a motorized scooter, and asked a question about Tylenol before noticing the toddler and believing the child was about to fall. “It seems like a situation that’s just been very misconstrued,” she said.

Merchant pointed out that accuser Caroline Miller smilingly interacted with Patel repeatedly including after the time she would later claim he tried to snatch her toddler.

“He’s been in this community for a very long time, his wife’s a doctor, he’s a retired engineer, he owns a lot of property in Cobb…I mean, this is an upstanding member of our community,” Merchant said.

A Change.org petition has more than 45,000 signatures in support of Patel.