A good Samaritan is sharing her story of how she helped a woman who was nearly abducted in St. Johns County.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office shared video showing the attack, which happened around 2:30 pm on Sunday, June 29.
WATCH: Caught on camera: Woman escapes attempted kidnapping in St. Augustine
A man can be seen dragging the woman in a chokehold, attempting to force her into a truck in the parking lot outside the 206 Smoke Shop on State Road 206 East.
Kelly Eason was parked near the business when this all happened.
“When I pulled in the parking lot there was nobody else here but I saw the young lady in distress,” said Eason.
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She said she immediately stepped in to help get the woman to safety and yelled from her car to try and get the man to stop.
“I waved and yelled at her to come to me and of course got on the phone with 911,” said Eason. “It was made clear that someone else was present at that point. But she continued to fight and eventually he seemed scared off and left.”
The sheriff’s office said it learned the suspect, 31-year-old homeless man Theodore Tundidor, had just committed a robbery inside and grabbed the employee as she tried to block his exit.
Deputies said the victim in this situation did everything right, which is screaming, fighting, and drawing attention to the situation.
And Eason said she was glad she could be there to help.
“It was a good thing that I was there at that moment,” said Eason. “My main concern was getting her away and to safety.”
The man was later stopped by FWC near Marineland for reckless driving and captured after an escape attempt. The truck had been reported stolen from a dealership in Jacksonville, according to SJSO.
The sheriff’s office called it an attempted kidnapping and confirmed they arrested him on that charge, but right now Tundidor is only charged with robbery and battery.
Action News Jax wanted to find out why, and the State Attorney’s Office told us those charges and several others are still on the table.
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