FLORENCE, S.C. — Rev. Charles M. Pittman, Jr. said he still thinks about what happened to him on Dec. 21 when a stranger walked inside his church doors.
Pittman is the senior pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church on Cherokee Road in Florence.
“It was a normal day. You know, that’s almost a cliché. Being a normal day. But, I had things that I wanted to get done that day. And I had plans for that day. And I never would’ve dreamed that something like that would happen,” Pittman told WDPE in Myrtle Beach.
Things quickly changed for the worse with Pittman being forced at gunpoint to leave his church with the stranger.
“It took me a second to realize what was really happening,” he said. “That I was indeed being, first I thought I was just gonna be robbed or something. And then I realized, well, this is turning into a kidnapping.”
Joseph Alan Wright, also referred to as “Wiz”, 39, of Fayetteville, NC, was charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of carjacking in Pittman’s abduction, according to a federal complaint.
According to the complaint, Wright forced the pastor into his vehicle located in the church parking lot and then left at a high rate of speed.
Pittman said he didn’t know where Wright was taking him, but he did know to pray.
“As we left here and headed out, I started to pray, silently. And my prayer was Lord I need a couple of things. I need wisdom. I need your peace,” Pittman said. “Scriptures came to mind. Through the Bible, in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament, God says that I’ll always be with you. I’ll never leave you. I’ll never forsake you.”
Almost immediately, the complaint said that church employees realized that something was wrong and contacted the police.
They tried to contact the pastor on his cell phone but were not able to reach him, so the Florence Police Department began trying to locate him through other electronic means, such as obtaining information from OnStar, cell phone providers and bank card use records, according to a release from the Department of Justice.
The complaint also said that officers promptly reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for additional assistance after learning about the kidnapping.
Pittman said he had an assurance that he would be ok.
“I had that peace. I have that assurance. And at the same time, I am very much aware that this is a very difficult situation. But, I still had that peace. And I was very aware of the Lord’s presence with me. I can feel it. I knew it intellectually. But, I also knew it in here. My spirit and the deepest part of me I knew it,” he said.
Officers located the stolen vehicle in Lumberton around 12:09 p.m., which was less than two hours after the incident began, according to the release.
Florence Police officers told the Lumberton Police Dept., who sent officers to locate the vehicle, rescue the pastor, and arrest Wright, all without incident, the release said.
Wright, who is in federal custody at the Florence County Detention Center as a result of the federal criminal complaint previously filed against him in this case, faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
He will be arraigned in Florence on Feb. 3 at 2:30 p.m.
Pittman said he doesn’t hold any ill will against Wright but wants justice to be served.
“My prayer for him would be that he would come to know Jesus, as he saved him,” Pittman said. “My prayer for him would be that he would find the Lord. When I see him I won’t have any animosity. I won’t have any feelings of ill will. Forgiving.”
(WATCH BELOW: CMPD arrests suspect in vicious kidnapping, assault caught on doorbell camera in east Charlotte)
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