CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A woman waiting at a bus stop Thursday morning escaped the grasp of a potential kidnapper in northwest Charlotte.
Detectives told Channel 9 the crime happened on Toddville Road. According to the 28-year-old victim, she was waiting at the bus stop when the man walked up to her, grabbed her from behind and tried to force her into his car.
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Police said the woman was able to fight her attacker off and the man left in a vehicle, which police found a short time later.
Joshua Dornan was arrested and charged with kidnapping.
Police said Dornan admitted to driving by the victim three times, checking her out and having impure sexual thoughts about what he wanted to do.
“He rolled past me the first time, and then he stopped in the middle of the street, and then he took over,” the woman said.
The second time, she said he whistled at her, and the third time, he got out of his truck and grabbed her.
“The only thing he said to me was, 'Get in the car,'” she said. “I get a big bear hug, and all I know (is) I'm being dragged.”
Police said the victim hit him in the head with her cellphone and managed to break free and call for help.
Dornan is a former Marine but only stayed in the service for a little more than a year before he was discharged. The service won’t release the reason for his discharge.
Court documents show Dornan dragged her 4 feet, from the sidewalk into the street.
He told investigators he was having impure sexual thoughts about what he wanted to do to her. Documents show he had one gun on his hip during the kidnapping and another gun in the trunk.
“He could’ve killed me if I didn’t have a weapon,” the woman said. “I think he probably thought I was as little, as small as I am. He probably thought I was a little girl and I wasn’t going to fight.”
The woman, who is also a mother, said she beat him repeatedly with her cellphone, determined to get away and back to her son.
“Honestly, yesterday could have been my last, but I am here,” she said. “By the grace of God, I am here.”
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