The man arrested Tuesday on charges of abducting a 20-year-old woman from an Abington parking lot had already escaped from jail four times, was released after serving 30 years for rape and robbery, and then was given bail when arrested for breaking into a building on June 7.
Reginald McNeill, 50, was arrested in Philadelphia Tuesday night following a two county manhunt. He told NBC Philadelphia Wednesday morning that he wasn't going to rape the woman, despite the fact that he allegedly handcuffed her. McNeill claimed that he just wanted money.
McNeill approached the unidentified woman as she got into her car in the parking lot of a Blockbuster on Old York Road around 1 a.m. Sunday, police say. The woman had just finished her waitressing shift at the nearby Kitchen Bar restaurant when the attack happened.
"She turned back and he pepper sprayed her and there was a large altercation going on for about five minutes at her driver side door," Abington Township Police Det. Phillip Geliebter said.
McNeill then handcuffed the 20-year-old woman, demanded money and drove her to Olney Avenue near Broad Street in Philadelphia.
"When he placed the handcuffs on her, she realized that this was a do or die situation and she took it into her own hands," Det. Geliebter said.
The woman then struggled with the man -- sending both tumbling out of the car as it slowly rode down the street. McNeill fled the scene and the woman got back into the car and drove for help, police say.
McNeill was recently released from prison, where he had served 30 years for rape and robbery convictions, according to police. McNeill's criminal record goes back 34 years -- most of his life.
Police say they've had several run-ins with McNeill over the past few months and each time he was armed.
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The victim was treated and released for minor injuries at Abington Memorial Hospital.
The attack has shaken the staff of the Kitchen Bar. Mangement says staffers will no longer be allowed to walk to their cars alone at night.
