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A 22-year-old woman in San Bernardino County, Calif., is being praised for using her cell phone to take pictures of a man who allegedly tried to snatch her off the street, then hiding inside a fast food restaurant after the man chased her, police say.
The woman told authorities she was targeted Wednesday afternoon in the city of Fontana.
"She was walking down the street when she noticed that someone was following her. She ducked inside a business to try and avoid this person that was following her," according to Lt. Mark Weissmann, Fontana Police. "She came out twenty minutes later, and noticed he was still following her. At some point while she was walking away the second time, he actually cut her off."
See video, more on this woman on NBCLosAngeles.com
At first, the man was trailing her inside his blue 2010 Mitsubishi, investigators say. The woman reportedly became suspicious of his behavior; then, according to police reports, jumped out and chased her on foot. It was at that point that she took a picture of the suspect on her cell phone before running and hiding inside a nearby Carl's Jr.
"It's unbelievable," said Fontana resident Anna Marie Garcia. "I live down here. I have little ones, and I'm concerned now. I'm concerned because I didn't think it would happen right here. This is new to me."
The attempted kidnapper is a Hispanic man in a blue shirt. He's about 35 years old and weighs around 225 pounds.
"We don't want to take the chance and wait," Weissmann said. "We're hoping that somebody calls in who knows this individual or this vehicle, so we can put him where he belongs."
Anyone with any information is asked to call the Fontana Police Department Tip Line at (909) 350-TIPS.
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Catch this @!$%#!
Didn't you read the story? He tried; she got away.
What the He!! is up with these kind of men? Just in my city alone, we had three attempted abuductions last week (young girls and a woman), and in addition to that, we've got some sicko going around raping school girls! Now, this idiot tries to abduct a young woman? What kind of loser does that?
When a man looks at a woman, they probably are going to try and rape them.
You should live in fear and have your cell phone on you at all times. If you see a man anywhere, dial 9-1 and have your finger ready to hit the other 1.
OR...he could be an innocent guy who is being set up by some woman who wants attention...
Nonsense!! This man following her in his vehicle probably was nothing more than a Neighborhood Watch volunteer who thought she looked suspicious. She is lucky he wasn't armed, or he would have had to "stand his ground" and shoot her when she became a threat by running.
Was he a white hispanic like Zimmerman?
No, if was a colored woman, They would have put that white part in here,,
Good for her. I hope they catch this... "person". (being all PC and stuff) All that aside that is what cell phones are for; security and not just cute pictures of kitties.
And boob pics. Don't forget those.
Was there supposed to be a picture of the perp with this story?
Pics were at the end!
See the vid link at the top of the article? Try watching it.
Hhhmmm I have a phone lets take pictures of him instead of calling the police first.
Actually, I think she had the right idea...she was in public places with other people around. All she would have to do is scream and someone would hear her, and hopefully help. Besides, she may have taken other - more helpful - pictures that aren't posted in the press, but will lead police to him. Even if he isn't caught, I wonder if he will think twice before trying to abduct another person....?
evidence bob, evidence. or would you rather have a sketch artist instead of a real picture?
Bob is a little slow on the uptake. Not his fault you know, he was dropped on his head as a child. Have some sympathy.
Pictures then call 911. If he sees you taking pictures he is going to run like hell anyways. This type of person is an insecure weakling. He would not be doing this kind of thing if he had any confidence in his manhood. If the worst happens, the pictures will be around after your death. 911 is going to do what exactly for you after the fact? How many people call 911 and still end up dead?
yeah and the second picture, of his ugly face, that was a good one! if that was someone i knew, i would recognize him with such a clear shot of his face and the car!
way to go, girl! you may have not only saved your own life, but the lives of other women he may have targeted!
I think it is funny that someone would say "evidence" when there is no real evidence. It is a picture of a guy in a car. Odds are that phone takes videos just as well as pictures...
It doesn't even say he actually tried to take her...unless that evidence is not being reported to the media. He just "cut her off".
He could be a slimeball who was going to abduct this woman, a tactless guy looking to get a date/phone number, a random guy passing by in a car, or he could be someone she somehow knows and wants to get revenge on.
Riiiight, I'm sure this was all just a big mythcommunication....
http://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/mythcommunication-its-not-that-they-dont-understand-they-just-dont-like-the-answer/
Right? That picture is worse than useless. She couldn't even get the license plate number? Quick-thinking, my arse.
No the pics aren't "worse than useless". Which is more than can be said for your comment.
Oh, snap. Really zinged me there.
I'd rather have positive ID on the guy than the car...he could have borrowed or stolen the car-then where would the police be?
The second photo shows a clear shot of the suspect behind the wheel. However, when I went into the first business for 20 minutes, I think I would have called the cops from there and also at least glanced at the plates if possible. Hope they find him. He looks happy in that photo; like he's posing for it!
Glad she had the good sense to run and stay in a public place. I'm amazed she was able to take pics of the guy...
That is GEORGE ZIMMERMAN! He grew beard and mustache! BUT THAT is HIM! The car can be a rental - BUT THAT IS ZIMMERMAN!
No if it was Zimmerman, or a colored woman, They would have said a white hispanic
She sounds a little paranoid. There is no proof that he was trying to kidnap her. She boldly makes these statements. She is Racial profiling.
You don't know the precise situation. His behavior, as reported, is more than a bit suspicious.
Then she should have called the cops on her cell phone instead of snapping pics.
Gee, let's see, he follows her for quite awhile in his vehicle. THEN he jumps out and chases her on foot... yep sounds to me like this woman is just doing it because he's hispanic. Jesus, get a life! This woman is lucky this creep(his color/race makes NO difference here) didn't get ahold of her. Because then , instead of being a prespective attacker, he very likely would have jumped the line into being a kidnapper, rapist or murderer. IF he isn't already.
In all that time she did everything but call the Police.
If some dude was trailing me down the street in his car and then JUMPED out and chased me down on foot, yeah...paranoia would be an after-thought. Getting away would be my first reaction. It's called instincts. Even if it turned out to be a total complete misunderstanding, at least she had the smarts to take action when she thought something was wrong. She did exactly what was needed-get out of the situation into a public place, call the cops, stay where people could see her while she made the phone call. Hopefully someone else inside the fast food joint saw him as well.
What is the average response time of the police in any call out situation in a large city? Not less than 20 min, usually closer to 40. If at all. Even if the woman had called the police, they would have been there long after this creep had gone. Then, it would have been up to the woman to try to explain to a police sketch artist exactly what this guy looked like, remembering what little she probably could through the fear she must've been feeling from this. It takes HOURS to get a sketch right, and still it's only usually a vague resemblance at best. She got one really good nearly straight on photo of her attackers face.
If you have the time, and your wits about you in a situation like this, get a picture. Because ladies and gentlemen, a picture is worth a thousand words.
How did MSNBC manage to NOT include the photo in this story?... or is the profile of the blue 2010 Mitsubishi the photo in question, in which case I'm confused since the story says she took the picture after the kidnapper jumped out to chase her. (The link to the video was useless to me... I couldn't get it to play more than the first second )
Because the cops are supposed to give them every bit of information before they've gotten out on every department BOLO, right? It's all about the news media first? Their concern is getting their ducks in a row before they give a report to the media at large. Pfft.
I didn't realize there were only a limited number of these electronic photographs to go around...
The video shows more than one photo.
Bad reporting though: "The woman reportedly became suspicious of his behavior; then, according to police reports, jumped out and chased her on foot. It was at that point that she took a picture of the suspect on her cell phone before running and hiding inside a nearby Carl's Jr."
First, there is the missing pronoun "he" in the first sentence above (should be "he jumped out"). Aren't there editors anymore??? Also, the above statement says that it was after he jumped out that she took his picture but the video only shows pics of him IN HIS CAR. The reporter and the editor need remedial journalism courses, if you ask me.
He was just trying to get your number boo.
or his money back
goes to show, picking up chics now a days is not the same as it use to be. riding down the street and you see a hot chic, you follow her to a point where you can park get out of your car, bam, snap, snap, snap, and your pictures are all over the national news and being wanted. and all you wanted was a phone number a chance to ask for a date.
Uhh, he was running after her? Common guys, you don't run after someone you want to ask out on a date.
thank you, baldman!
there's a huge difference between following a pretty girl then asking for her number and abandoning your vehicle to chase her down! come on guys!
well thats obvious.why would you guys say such a thing.the guy was going to kidnap her.not follow her for over 20 min just to say.."hey can i get your number!"give me a break and get real.
Always pay attention to the people around you. Don't let yourself become a victim of any sort, I commend this woman for what she did.
Absolutely. Learned that the hard way myself.
I was walking down the sidewalk near waterfront park in my community a few years back. there was a guy on the sidewalk behind me and I wasn't paying any attention. Still wasn't paying any attention when I left the sidewalk and waded through tall grass to get to the water's edge--saw a fishing rod abandoned, wanted to get a closer look. As I bent to dig it out of the mud this guy stuck his hand between my legs and grabbed a handful of my private parts.
I yelled, he took off. I got out my cellphone and called 911, then chased him. At one point I got close enough to grab the strap of his duffel bag to try to get him to stop, but he hit me a couple of times with his cane so I let him go but kept following him. The police finally caught up with us, but they said he was just a harmless goofball and since he didn't make an attempt to remove my clothes it wasn't considered a sexual assault. They took his info, allowed him to leave, gave me the info and told me to take it to the court commissioner and have a summons put out for him to appear in civil court.
So I did on my way home and the Commissioner took the info, and then he looked at m an asked me if this was what I was wearing when he saw me. I said yes--I was wearing bellbottom jeans, a Hannah Montana t-shirt borrowed from my niece, white sneakers with rainbow hearts (I wear a size 3 shoe) and my hair was in two braids. I'm also 5' and 120 lbs. Then he asked me if the guy saw my face before he touched me--i said no, I hadn't seen his until I turned around after he laid hands on me.
The commissioner said that with what I was wearing, my height and wight, it could reasonably be assumed that I was a teen, or younger, from behind I supposed so--I've been mistaken for 14 before, and I still can't buy alcohol without being carded. Then he told me the guy as a registered sex offender who just touched down from jail 6 months before for molesting a 10 year old girl, and based on that he was going to put out an arrest warrant for the guy.
It took the cops two more weeks to track him down because the address given the Sex Offender Registry wasn't correct (big freakin' surprise there. Shoulda kept him when I ran him down for you, hello!) but he eventually went to trial.
Was convicted of 4th degree sex offense, assault and battery (my state is one of the ones considering the 'Stand Your Ground' law like FL, which makes me wonder if he'd've have gotten that assault charge under that law since I was the one who pursued him--well, he laid hands on me first!
Got a 10 yer sentence, was supposed to serve eight and spend 2 on parole/supervised monitoring, but the sentence was overturned on appeal 8 months later because the appeals judge said since I wasn't a minor, what he did wasn't a reflection off his prior bad act. He did, however, grant me a 10 year restraining order.
So he's free, wandering around out there, still lives in my community (used to live right across the street from me before we moved) and I still run into him on occasion on the bus to work. I have his lawyer's number, I have to tell his lawyer where I move to so the guy knows where to stay away from, have to tell the lawyer every time I change jobs so he knows he can't go to that business, and in the meantime I've kept an eye on his sex offender registry page with his address. I don't know if he actually lives there, and I don't know where he works--but he knows where I live and where I work and where my kids go to school.
I tell you, the justice system sucks sometimes.
I commend this woman. It's not easy to get pics from a phone that fast and hers was a really clear shot. Someone will know this creep and hopefully will help the authorities catch him. I hope there is at least a little reward for info on him. A little incentive goes a long way toward turning in a "friend" lol.
That's for sure - especially if it's a Facebook "friend". Hey, you turn one in, you still have 29,648 friends left! lol! Seriously though, she should have also tried to get a pic of the license plate. Hopefully, the pic she did get will be enough to nail his behind. I have zero tolerance for people who try to victimize others.
The only thing she should have done is call the police or at least ask for help in the public places she spent time in. Why she didn't do that seems to be a mystery.
Of course nothing will be done, because he had not committed a "crime". If the cops actually follow up on it, and keep in contact with the creep it may have him reconsidering his perverted form of entrainment. If nothing else after multiple women deaths, the picture may link him to the crimes.
I'm impressed that she thought quickly and used her phone but LADIES, more important time than ever to be carrying pepper spray, oneof those concealed personal safety knives, learn how to kick-box, etc. We just moved to a VERY large city, the largest we've ever lived in and I'm thinking it's about time I took some classes. My husband and I would both feel better knowing that I have a chance to get away from these creeps. Kudos to her for taking action!
Pretty shocking he is hispanic
Racist hate remark.
Smart woman, Im just glad they did not say a white hispanic man, This tells me she is not a colored woman, WE are taught to see around us and make sure we are safe, Its hard to protect yourselve these days, So many wierdo's out there... He will get caught.
Why not hit 911 on cell phone while hiding initially? Why not run straight to the counter screaming for help? Then to put herself in harms way taking a pic. The guy could have had a weapon. Dial 911 give location of self and description of man. He obviously sat outside for 20 minutes and cops could have nabbed him.
Uh oh you found me out with your quick wit, you must be batman. Worlds Greatest Message Board Detective.
Exactly ! DetMom
Some of the comments here are just plain nasty. Talk about trying to blame the victim.....comments like "she should have called the police" and "is that the best she could do". WTF!
Try looking at the video link instead of jumping to conclusions first off. There's a police officer interviewed who compliments her on her actions and that's why this item is out in the media - they are trying to track him down. Obviously the police think she acted well and believe her, so why can't some of you?
For the record, calls to dispatch in SoCal can take a while to be responded to. A call asking for help because a man might abduct you, will get pushed down the queue behind calls like traffic accidents with injuries, fires, and robberies in progress. The lady could have been standing 40 minutes waiting for a cop, so taking photos was a wise move on her part.
you are correct stephaniecali. safety is first and foremost the responsibility of oneself, police are only a supplement for public safety. If everyone had called the police when someone suspicious followed them, half the city would have to be police officers in order to handle those request. with that, I would have called a friend or family member as well.
exactly!
this RAYMOND 1126037 is ridiculous! we should ask him what color his car is...
Anyone seen a story on MSNBC about recent developments in the Trayvon Martin case since NBC got caught editing the 911 tape ??
The knee grows are settling down....icehole Al sharpton has shut up so that helps settle the tribes immensely. The evidence speaks for itself. Self defense end of story. Sorry Barry and butt buddy holder nothing to stir up anymore...
Concealed Carry: make him look Hindu by putting a permanent red dot on his forehead ...or foreskin her choice.
Yes, that would work, but in a case like this, mace/pepper spray would be better. Then a swift kick to his foreskin would put him on the ground. In this day and age, a person has to be prepared to defend themselves, as the cops are only several minutes away.
Recently, while driving on a highway, my car got hit with a two-palm sized thingy flew off of a lady's vehicle. Apparently, she didn't realize it and kept driving. I heard the large thud on my vehicle, couldn't stop to check damage and lose her.. and started to follow her hoping to make her stop and I could get a police report for my damage. I did not have my cell phone with me at the moment. She kinda panicked about me following her, taking same exit with her, stopping whenever she did. Eventually, I was able to convey the matter and get her to stop. Finally it turned out that the thingy was a soft material and there was no damage on my car. Thinking now, she could have took mine or my car picture and complained that I tried to snatch her. Imagine having your image on a lookout notice circulated on web for something you never even thought about doing.
My point is, you will never know what exactly was going on unless you get the facts from all sides. With that many people around, hard to imagine he would attempt a physical "snatch". I am not justifying him for following. Just walking around near a person in a heavily packed place is probably not enough to convict someone.
I must say it does sound kind of strange why the woman did not call the Police or notify somebody. She had the time and resources to get help.
She may not have been that concerned at first but then became so later when he came out to grab her. When I was 18 my best friend and I were followed by a vehicle for 20+ blocks (keeping pace behind our car while we were taking a shortcut through neighborhoods that wouldn't make sense for most drivers). We didn't think to call the police but we did have the idea to not stop at her house but keep going and head toward the police station, as soon as we switched directions he sped off the other way.
Ok, now I'm just going by the details in the story and that it at this point has no witnesses and just her testimony and a cell picture, but way to go local P.D. with the comment showing innocent until proven guilty.
And again, before you all jump down my throat, I'm not saying this didn't happen, just noting that the statement by the P.D. is a bit presumptuous and leads to immediate guilt in the public eye. It is a very creepy story and glad she did get away.
Yay, more "minority report" hearsay. Lock him up and throw away the key before a crime is committed. Wait, doesn't that mean he's innocent? Shhh...you'll wake the sheeple.
Here's a possible follow up story: Woman with paranoid schizophrenia sued for defamation of character & privacy invasion. Anyone else think we're "throwing the book" at potentially innocent persons too quickly?
And check this paragraph out:
"At first, the man was trailing her inside his blue 2010 Mitsubishi, investigators say. The woman reportedly became suspicious of his behavior; then, according to police reports, jumped out and chased her on foot. It was at that point that she took a picture of the suspect on her cell phone before running and hiding inside a nearby Carl's Jr."
"Investigators say", "the woman reportedly", "according to police reports", "she took a picture" are key terms in this paragraph. It leads the average (aka:dumb) reader to believe the story is corroborated by others with actual evidence when the author of this piece is just attributing the information to multiple sources when that source is simply the same thing...THIS WOMAN.
The woman had this happen, she called police who investigated it and wrote up a report.
"Cut her off" isn't the same as "tried to grab her/stuff her in his car".
Showing children on scooters and talking to people who "can't believe it happened in this neighborhood" is so cliche.