Man Accused Of Snatching Daughter From Staten Island Home Due In Court
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man accused of assaulting his estranged wife and then snatching his 2-year-old daughter from her Staten Island home, prompting an AMBER Alert, is due in court on Wednesday.
Johnny Woo, 45, faces assault and harassment charges, according to police.
Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, police said Woo went to a home on Ismay Street, punched his estranged wife in the stomach and then "forcibly removed" their daughter, Kim Woo.
Johnny Woo is in the process of divorcing Kim's mother, who is an NYPD sergeant, police said. He then drove off in a 2014 black Kia Sorrento, police said.
Believing she was in imminent danger, authorities issued the AMBER Alert for the little girl, who they said was still dressed in her pink pajamas.
Hours later in Yonkers, Rui Fernandes was with his son when he got the AMBER Alert text on his phone. All of a sudden, a black Kia passed by and Fernandes' gut instinct told him to check the plate.
"I race up, I speeded up and I went after the car and I look at the plate and the plate was the same as the AMBER Alert," he said.
He said they called 911 and then followed the car for about three miles on the Major Deegan Expressway into the Bronx.
A school safety agent was first to respond. Together, they boxed the car in, stopping Woo so police were able to rescue the little girl, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
Fernandes says he was glad he was able to help.
"We got the baby, everything is safe. That's the main thing," he said.
The 2-year-old girl is now home safe with her mom.
