Wednesday, August 13, 2008

WOMAN ESCAPES KIDNAPPING



COLORADO SPRINGS - A woman makes a dangerous escape after she's pulled into an SUV. The investigation involves two different convenience stores on the south side of Colorado Springs. The victim pulled in to a 7-11 parking lot at 1801 South Nevada when the suspect drove up next to her, pulled her out of the drivers seat and threw her into his SUV.

The victim's quick thinking in this case could have saved her from something worse. The victim, a 28-year-old woman, says she exchanged numbers with 25-year-old Luther Brumfield at the 7-11 at Lake and Rand around midnight Tuesday morning. "Apparently she thought she knew him and that's why they exchanged numbers," says Lt. Steve Tobias with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

About an hour later, the victim says she was driving down South Nevada and Brumfield started tailgating her in his maroon Suburban. She pulled into the 7-11 parking lot on South Nevada. Brumfield drove in next to her, grabbed her and threw her into his vehicle. He locked the doors and drove off. "If you are going to pull over, make sure it's in a well-lighted area and there are people around," Tobias says. The victim rolled down her window and held down the control so Brumfield couldn't roll it back up.

She jumped out of the moving car and ran for help. "It's not a good idea to jump out of a moving vehicle," says Tobias, "but if you think the outcome is going to be worse than that, that's a decision the victim has to make." Officers tracked the cell phone number the victim got from the suspect, back to Brumfield and his maroon suburban. He's in the El Paso County Jail charged with second-degree kidnapping. Police are still investigating Brumfield's motive in this kidnapping. The victim is okay.

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