Two people are in custody after a witness thwarted a man’s attempt to kidnap his ex-girlfriend on the Main Line Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The woman was outside her home on Conshohocken State Road in Lower Merion Township around noon when her ex-boyfriend, Eric Drake, climbed over a fence and approached her, police said. Drake then allegedly hugged her, picked her up, carried her to the parking lot of a neighboring apartment building and then forced her into the backseat of a white Hyundai Sonata.
Drake’s current girlfriend and the owner of the vehicle, Cheryl Litty, then moved from the passenger seat to the driver seat and drove off as Drake and the victim were in the backseat, investigators said.
The victim tried to pull away from Drake several times and cried out for help as Litty continued to drive, according to police. The victim also managed to open the doors of the moving vehicle. Litty then parked at the LA Fitness on East City Avenue as the victim continued to try to escape, police said. Another woman then spotted the victim, according to the affidavit.
The witness tried to pull the victim out of the vehicle while Drake tried to push her away, telling her, “You’re making the biggest mistake of your life. She is schizophrenic and we are trying to help her,” police said.
The witness then called police who arrived at the LA Fitness. The responding officers then arrested both Drake and Litty, according to investigators.
Litty is being held on 10 percent of $75,000 bail while Drake is being held on $99,000 bail.
