Charges: Woman thought she was getting into a rideshare in Minneapolis when driver abducted her
MINNEAPOLIS -- A 25-year-old man is facing several charges after allegedly abducting a woman in downtown Minneapolis and driving south of the Twin Cities, where the victim escaped and called for help, prompting a series of police chases.
Daquairus Black, of Minneapolis, is charged in Goodhue County with felony counts of kidnapping, false imprisonment, fleeing police, and illegal gun possession.
According to a criminal complaint, the story starts at a Cannon Falls gas station, where an officer responded Saturday morning to a woman crying in the bathroom of a Casey's General Store, saying she'd been abducted.
The woman told police that she had been staying with her boyfriend at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis, where they went out with friends. At some point in the night, the woman got into a fight with her boyfriend, threw her phone down and walked away for several blocks.
When the woman, whom authorities say is in her 30s, realized she was lost, she walked to a car that she thought was a rideshare. But instead of driving her to the hotel, the driver, Black, drove her throughout the Twin Cities and eventually headed to Cannon Falls, which is about 45 miles south of Minneapolis.
Black did not let her leave the car for hours, the victim said, adding that he'd reach up her dress and touch her thigh. He also repeatedly demanded sex, the complaint states.
The victim was able to escape because she told Black that she needed to go to the bathroom. At the gas station in Cannon Falls, she fled to the bathroom and locked herself inside.
Not long after, the city's police chief responded to the gas station, and he spotted Black's car nearby, which led to a pursuit through the city. At one point, Black's car collided with the chief's squad car.
While no one was hurt, Black nearly struck a pedestrian as he sped away from the crash, the complaint states.
Black fled north on Highway 52, eluding the police chief, who followed at speeds over 120 mph. Shortly after, authorities issued an alert for the suspect car, which was spotted in Northfield.
This led to another chase before Black pulled over in Faribault, where officers put him in handcuffs. In his car, instigators found the victim's purse and a gun, which Black is prohibited from having due to a 2017 conviction for threats of violence, the complaint states.
Black made his first court appearance Monday, where his bail was set at $1 million. If convicted of all the charges, Black faces decades in prison.