18-year-old speaks out after alleged kidnapping attempt caught on camera
An 18-year-old is speaking out following an alleged kidnapping attempt.
Emma, who requested to withhold her last name for privacy reasons, was the sole employee working at a St. Augustine smoke shop on June 29, when according to police, a man named Theodore Tundidor walked in and allegedly began to steal merchandise.
"I got in his way so he wouldn't leave with the product," Emma said, claiming he then allegedly "pushed me out of the store and then put me in a chokehold and dragged me out to the truck."
The alleged kidnapping attempt was caught on camera in surveillance video released by the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, which also released audio of a 911 call about the incident.
In the video, Emma can be heard screaming, "Get off of me!" and "Help! Help!"
"I could not get into the truck. I was terrified," she recalled.
A bystander witnessed the incident and dialed 911.
In the 911 audio recording, the witness can be heard saying, "There's a lady being attacked," and "She was screaming at the top of her lungs, and he's trying to, like, like, force her into a car. She ran."
In the video footage, Emma can be seen fighting her way out of the man's grasp to avoid being forced into what authorities later said was a stolen vehicle.
Emma said she and the bystander then locked themselves in a nearby store until help arrived.
"She was calling, yelling up for me to go over by her and everything, and then I think that's partially what scared this guy," Emma recounted.
Police said they later located Tundidor after attempting a traffic stop for reckless driving. The arrest was captured on police body camera video footage released by authorities.
Authorities are applauding Emma's quick actions, saying she did everything right in the situation.
"The suspects know that there's a ticking time clock in their brains. They know people are calling. Law enforcement is going to be coming at some point," said Lt. Jessica Hines of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, who is also a self-defense instructor. "So you have to fight long enough for the cops to get there or somebody to intervene. So she did phenomenal."
Tundidor has since been charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment, robbery, and several additional charges.
According to the police report, Tundidor confessed to robbery and attempted kidnapping, telling sheriff's deputies he took Emma and the store's products "at the same time."
