Mahendra “Mick” Patel, a 56-year-old Kennesaw man, is being held without bond in the Cobb County Jail after being indicted following an incident at a local Walmart. But newly released surveillance video appears to undermine the central allegation, that he attempted to kidnap a toddler, and raises serious questions about the conduct of the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
A Timeline of What the Footage Shows
8:16 p.m. – Mr. Patel enters the Walmart on Cobb Parkway. He moves casually and appears to be looking for something.
8:19 p.m. – Patel approaches Caroline Miller, who is riding a motorized scooter. A toddler sits between her legs, and another child is draped over her arm. Patel speaks briefly with her and asks where to find Tylenol. Miller points to the shelf, contradicting her later claim that she was alarmed by his behavior.
8:20 p.m. – Patel reaches slightly toward the child, but quickly pulls back. A nearby man continues shopping, seemingly unaware of anything alarming.
8:22 p.m. – Patel finds a store employee, locates the Tylenol, and continues shopping.
8:24 p.m. – On his way to checkout, he briefly shows Miller the Tylenol, to which she responds with a thumbs-up gesture. The child is still on her lap in the same position.
8:27 p.m. – Patel pays with a credit card and heads for the exit.
8:28 p.m. – As he leaves, he appears to joke and casually taps the security guard on the shoulder—hardly the behavior of a man who thinks he just committed a serious crime.
A Grand Jury Indictment
The sole witness was Temperance Stoddard, a former investigator under disgraced Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Stoddard now works in Cobb County, but she is not a sworn officer and did not participate in the investigation of the incident.
Patel’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, slammed the process:
“Mr. Patel, who goes by ‘Mick’, was indicted when the Cobb County District Attorney chose to present the case to the grand jury instead of allowing us to have the preliminary hearing before the Cobb Magistrate Judge who could have dismissed the charges… Additionally, the investigating officer did not even testify before the grand jury. The indictment shows that an employee of the District Attorney’s Office is the only person who testified before the grand jury.”
She went on:
“The process used for indictments is only as good as the prosecutors using it… in its current state you truly could indict a ham sandwich as the phrase goes… We need prosecutors who are willing to show the grand jury all the evidence and let the grand jury decide and not just the evidence that supports what they allege took place.”
Questions About the Accuser’s Credibility
Adding to the controversy is the background of the accuser, Caroline Miller. In 2019, Miller accused a Lyft driver of rape in a high-profile case that led to a civil lawsuit against the company. However, the criminal charge was later dropped to disorderly conduct. According to police records, Miller claimed she was assaulted after falling asleep in the back seat, but those allegations did not lead to a conviction or a rape-related charge.
The Charges Against Patel
Following the incident, Patel was charged with:
- Criminal Attempt to Commit Kidnapping (Felony) – O.C.G.A. 16-4-1
- Simple Assault (Misdemeanor) – O.C.G.A. 16-5-20
- Simple Battery (Misdemeanor) – O.C.G.A. 16-5-23
He remains behind bars at the Cobb County Jail, held without bond.
A Troubling Pattern?
The case against Mick Patel has triggered growing public concern about prosecutorial overreach and questionable grand jury practices in Cobb County. Why was a key hearing avoided?
Why did a former Fulton County investigator with no direct knowledge of the case testify in place of police? And why does the video look so different from the charges?
As this case unfolds, Cobb residents are watching closely—and asking whether justice is being served, or whether one man’s freedom is being sacrificed for a false narrative.
