A Florida woman was nearly thrown into the trunk of her car with her would-be kidnapper holding a knife to her and threatening to “slice” her throat if she didn’t comply.
Veronica Jones had just finished shopping at an Orlando Walmart on Monday at around 4:30 p.m. and was putting her groceries into her trunk when the horrifying ordeal went down, according to WESH 2.
“All of a sudden, somebody grabbed me full body,” Jones told the outlet, revealing at first she thought it was someone she may know trying to pull a prank on her.
“He kept pushing me, I was pinned against my car, he kept pushing me toward my trunk as he was pulling my purse at the same time.”
The suspect, later identified by police as 54-year-old Juan Perez, demanded that she cough up her purse and cash.
Jones said she was “fighting” to keep her purse because it contained all her important valuables.
However, she quickly realized the perp was willing to get violent when he put a knife to her throat and threatened her life.
“Then he put something to my neck, which he says if you don’t stop this, I’m going to slice your throat, if you don’t give me your purse,” Jones shared.
Perez continued to push her into the truck, with the blade still pressed against her throat, causing Jones to go into “survival mode.”
Jones said she “started screaming” for help, but her cries were swiftly muffled out when the would-be kidnapper shoved a glove down her throat, she told the outlet.
Fortunately, she got out one shout for “help,” which alerted a nearby bystander, who rushed over and scared the violent suspect off.
“She heard me say help, so she got out of the car, and then at this time, we’re tugging on the purse, and he got it cause the strap broke,” Jones told the outlet.
The brave bystander later told law enforcement she saw the victim’s “legs flailing out of the trunk” and the suspect trying to push her in, according to an affidavit obtained by Fox 35.
When the suspect took off with her purse, the Walmart shopper lost her wallet, driver’s license, insurance card, phone, gift cards, $60 in cash, and a $125 check.
Jones was left with a mark on her neck where the suspect had pressed the knife into her during the frightening ordeal. She denied medical attention at the scene.
But she’s just grateful the good Samaritan heard her pleas for help and intervened.
“I’d like to thank the girl that stopped though, because she stayed with me the whole time, she was a lot of help,” Jones told WESH 2.
Police arrested Perez the following day after a GPS he was wearing from a past crime put him at the scene of the attempted kidnapping and armed robbery.
Perez’s car was also spotted in the parking lot during that time, and his probation officer verified him as the perp from stills off of Walmart’s security cameras, according to the outlet.
He was taken before a judge following his arrest and charged with attempted kidnapping, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, battery, and destruction of evidence, according to the Orlando Police Department.
He is being held at the Orange County Jail without bond. Perez is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Sept. 10.
Perez was on federal probation for a previous kidnapping charge when he allegedly tried kidnapping Jones and stole her purse using the deadly weapon, according to Fox 35.
He is also a registered sex offender in Florida for Lewd Or Lascivious Battery of a victim 12-15 years old from 2004.
