Witness Jumps Into Action And Saves Stockton Girl From Suspected Kidnapper
STOCKTON (CBS13) – Police say two men tried to kidnap a Stockton teen, but they didn't get very far thanks to a Good Samaritan that took action.
"They were kind of looking at them, slowing down. I told my wife … 'something doesn't seem to be right,'" Gary Smith said.
Smith got a bad feeling last weekend while he was driving along trinity parkway in north Stockton. That's when he noticed two men in a car creeping up on two unsuspecting teenage girls.
"As I got up there, I witnessed the male driver jump out of the car, run across the sidewalk and grab one of the young females," Smith said. "[He] put her in a bear hug and he was picking her up."
Smith says his first reaction was to jump out of his car and run over to help.
"I grabbed him, threw him down. He got back up. I grabbed him again and went to try and pull him to the ground, but he slipped out of his shirt and was yelling at the driver 'let's get out of here,'" Smith said.
But Smith says the suspect managed to grab the teen's cellphone in the scuffle.
"So far it appears that he wanted the cell phone, but whenever they take it to the next level by grabbing a girl – trying to drag her into a vehicle – who knows what their true intentions really were," said Officer Joe Silva from the Stockton Police Department.
The two men managed to get away. But Smith got a good look at them and the car they took off in.
"I think anybody would turn around and react the same way. I know some people don't want to get involved, but when you see a young girl being held against her will ... I didn't even think about it twice," Smith said.
Smith stayed around with the two teens until police arrived.
"We don't recommend citizens to get physically involved, but Mr. Smith did what he thought was right and he did prevent a worse situation from occurring," Silva said.
Smith says the day after, one of the teen's teachers from school called him to let him know she was released from the hospital with just some scrapes and bruises, and to thank him for what he did.
Police say the car the suspects took off in is a green Buick LP with the license plate number 7ABJ708.
