A Minneapolis man faces a felony stalking charge after he allegedly drove by a 13-year-old girl at least 20 times as she made her way to school Wednesday morning on St. Paul's East Side.

Ramon T. Pavon, 21, was arrested after he returned to the neighborhood again in his van Thursday, according to a complaint filed Friday in Ramsey County District Court.

An officer recognized the van based on information that the girl provided to police. She had written the van's license number in her planner while Pavon passed by her Wednesday, the complaint said.

The girl's story was corroborated by another 13-year-old girl, who been waiting with the victim at a school bus stop Wednesday in the 700 block of Jenks Avenue. The witness told police that the man had driven by them slowly, staring at them, and that at one point he yelled, "Hey, you."

After he was taken into custody, Pavon was told that there had been a report of a man in a van attempting to kidnap children, the complaint said, to which he allegedly replied: "It was kind of a lapse."

He acknowledged he had driven around a couple of blocks, "looking at [the girl]," and that he probably scared her. But kidnap her? He said, "he would not go that far," the complaint said.

Because the girl was under 18, Pavon was charged with aggravated stalking.

According to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Pavon has no adult criminal record.

ANTHONY LONETREE