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'He is very dangerous': CMPD arrests man accused of kidnapping woman at ATM

By Glenn Counts, wsoctv.com, Stephanie Tinoco, and Mark Becker, wsoctv.com
By Glenn Counts, wsoctv.com, Stephanie Tinoco, and Mark Becker, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested a man accused of carjacking and assaulting a woman at a south Charlotte ATM.

Travis Lamont Blakley, 31, was charged with first-degree attempted rape, first-degree kidnapping, armed robbery, assault by strangulation, and common law robbery.

Blakley may also be the suspect accused of robbing an Uber driver about an hour earlier.

(Travis Blakley)

CMPD said a female Uber driver was waiting to pick up a fair on Montford Drive when Blakley entered the passenger side of her car.

“He is very dangerous,” CMPD Lt. Muriel Hughes said.

Police said the driver was not assaulted, but the suspect took her cellphone and keys, committing "common law robbery."

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Blakley later carjacked and assaulted a woman at a south Charlotte ATM.

Shelly Robinson lives nearby and is a regular at the Park Road Shopping Center.

“It makes me feel like it's not safe, like, I thought it was and it was forever,” Robinson said Monday. “It's crazy when you think you're safe and you're not.”

Blakely is accused of kidnapping a woman at knifepoint at the Park Road Shopping Center before attempting to sexually assault her on Friday.

Police said during the course of the investigation, detectives gathered surveillance video from area shops to identify a suspect in the case.

Detectives said they found the 22-year-old woman’s gray Hyundai Sonata abandoned on Saturday, but they did not say where it was found because it is part of an investigation.

"I don't even like thinking about it because it's shocking for this area,” shopper Miranda Price said.

Investigators told Channel 9 the crime started around 2 a.m. Friday at an ATM on East Woodlawn Road at the Park Road Shopping Center.

Police said Blakley forced the woman into her own car at knifepoint and drove them around to Independence Boulevard, where he choked her and tried to sexually assault her.

"I've lived here most of my life and I have not heard anything like this, but it makes me concerned for my daughters and family, my wife,” shopper Chuck Adkins said.

"If you're someone who works normal hours, it's hard to get things done during the week, so a lot of times you're running errands late at night trying to get stuff done,” shopper Miranda Price said. “I'm someone who does a lot of late-night runs and never think anything twice about it. It’s a little scary."

[ALSO READ: Man wearing Hornets hat robs bank near Park Road Shopping Center]

Authorities told Channel 9 that the woman managed to break free from her attacker and escape.

"I would like to know what they're doing to catch them,” Adkins said. “It seems like there are cameras everywhere."

[ALSO READ: Five people rob popular Park Road Shopping Center restaurant]

News of such a frightening crime was a big worry to shoppers Channel 9 spoke with at the shopping plaza Friday.

“It's shocking,” one man said. “I mean, we have -- there's a lot of great areas in town so I think you have to, regardless of whatever neighborhood you're in, good or bad, you have to be smart about your surroundings.”

"It makes you scared,” shopper Sharia Robinson said. “It makes you not want to go out at night."

"Unfortunately, it's not surprising, but it's very startling in places like Park Road (Shopping Center where) you expect to be safe," shopper Taryn Miller said.

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