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Man Allegedly Stalked Former Neighbor, Raped Her In Her Car, Then Stuffed Her In Trunk –– But She Managed To Escape
The unidentified woman was able to escape the vehicle by using the emergency lever in the trunk, running to safety. Police in Lufkin, Texas arrested Zataymon Skinner after a brief foot chase later that day.
A Texas man accused of raping a woman and forcing her into the trunk of a car was captured by police after a foot chase that was recorded on bodycam.
Zataymon Timon Skinner, 30, is now facing charges of felony aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, theft and a parole violation after authorities said he kidnapped a woman who had once been his neighbor and forced her into her own car, where he raped her.
Lufkin Police said in a statement that Skinner allegedly kidnapped the woman around 12:30 a.m. Saturday as she was leaving her job, telling her to “get in (the car) or I’ll kill you.”
Then he drove her car, which belonged to a family member of hers, to a dead-end street, raped her and placed her in the trunk of the car and drove away.
While he was driving, the woman was able to open the trunk using the emergency lever located in the trunk and escape, The Lufkin Daily News reports. Lufkin Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Pebsworth told the local paper that Skinner tried to chase the woman for a short time, but eventually got back into her car and drove off.
Police officers were called around 1:30 a.m. to the area where the woman had escaped. She was able to tell authorities that she knew the man who kidnapped her as “Mon” and said he had been a neighbor for a short time when she lived out in the country, police said.
Later that same day, around 11 a.m., police got a disturbance call about a man named “Mon.” The man had fled on foot from the scene and with the help of neighbors in the area, authorities were able to locate him. After a short pursuit on foot, captured on one of the officer’s body camera and later posted on Facebook, the officer tried to use his Taser on Skinner but missed.
Skinner then threw himself onto the ground where he was taken into custody.
“Give it up bro,” the officer can be heard telling him on the footage.
The alleged victim later positively identified Skinner as her attacker. Police commended her for being able to escape.
“We would like to take a moment to remind everyone - if you ever find yourself in a situation like this one, FIGHT. Do everything in your power to prevent from being taken because your odds of survival decrease significantly at that point,” police said. “We are so thankful this woman escaped with her life and that we were able to get Skinner in custody before he victimized anyone else.”
Skinner is currently being held at the Angelina County jail on a $154,000 bond, according to local station KTRE.
