VISTA - A man who tried to snatch two little girls from their mothers outside a North County Wal-Mart while referring to himself as "El Diablo" - the devil - is scheduled to be sentenced today.

Under terms of a plea agreement reached in May, 37-year-old Eloy Ambris Garcia is expected to be sent to a state mental hospital for 5 1/2 years. That's the same amount of time he would have spent in prison on the attempted kidnapping charge to which he pleaded guilty.

However, Judge K. Michael Kirkman warned the defendant that depending on his mental condition, he could remain hospitalized for the rest of his life.

Witnesses in a preliminary hearing testified that Garcia approached members of an extended family when they got off a bus in front of the store on Center Drive in San Marcos.

The mother of one of the children testified that the defendant tugged at her daughter's hands, saying in Spanish, "I am coming for them, I am the devil."

A group of men nearby subdued the defendant until police arrived.