Notorious, Pepper-Spraying Attempted Kidnapper Arrested

SAN LEANDRO, CA — A recently-paroled ex-convict from Southern California has been arrested out of state for allegedly trying to kidnap a woman in San Leandro in July by pepper-spraying her and dragging her toward his car, police said today.

Previous Coverage:

• Good Samaritan Saves Woman From Kidnapper in San Leandro
• San Leandro Police Release Photos of Suspect Car, Wheels

San Leandro police Lt. Robert McManus described the 43-year-old suspect's attempt to kidnap the 23-year-old woman as she was walking to work in the 14700 block of Washington Avenue at 7:45 a.m. on July 28 as an attempted stranger abduction and as "something you would see in a television crime drama."

McManus said a passerby who saw the struggle and intervened, allowing the woman to escape, was "a Good Samaritan" and "a hero."

However, he said the suspect drove away from the crime scene, ditched his car near the Oakland International Airport, took a long flight across the country and might have gotten away with the crime if not for a business owner near the airport who told police on Aug. 17 that the suspect's silver 2014 Nissan Sentra SR car was parked nearby.

That information helped investigators break the case because they were able to track the car and ultimately identify the suspect, McManus said.

Scientific and technological evidence put the suspect at the scene of the attempted abduction and U.S. Marshals were able to locate him early last week and arrest him without incident, according to McManus.

However, police aren't yet releasing the suspect's name or mugshot or saying where he was arrested because they are still investigating whether he may have committed other crimes, including other possible abductions.

He said the suspect, who is from Orange County, had just been paroled from state prison on July 18, 10 days before the attempted abduction, after serving a his conviction for what he described as "a variety of violent
crimes."

McManus said the suspect is in custody at the location where he was arrested out of state and is expected to be extradited in two or three weeks to Alameda County, where he faces kidnapping, carjacking and assault
with a deadly weapon charges for the San Leandro incident.

He said the suspect is charged with carjacking because he briefly got into the Good Samaritan's car and moved it because it was blocking his own car when he was trying to get away from the scene.

McManus said the suspect didn't know the victim and at this time investigators don't know why he drove all the way from Orange County to San Leandro to commit the crime.

He said police don't know how long the suspect was in San Leandro but he had still been in Southern California as of the morning of July 27, the day before the incident.

McManus said police don't know the suspect's intentions for trying to kidnap the woman but he said, "Based on his record they probably weren't good."

McManus said it appears that the suspect bought his plane ticket after the incident in San Leandro. He said the man took a long flight to another state where he has relatives and apparently "was trying to start a
new life" there.

San Leandro acting police Chief Jeff Tudor said, "The notion of a stranger grabbing a person off the street invoked a lot of fear in our community and my heart goes out to the victim. Her strength and courage is
inspirational to us."

McManus said the victim was "very relieved" when police told her that the suspect has been arrested.

— Bay City News; Image via San Leandro Police