Police are searching for a man accused of kidnapping a woman at knifepoint outside of a Wawa store in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the latest on the search and reveals how police say the woman escaped.
Police are searching for a man who they say kidnapped a woman at knifepoint at a Bucks County Wawa and held her captive before she managed to escape.
The ordeal began on April 19 around 11:30 p.m. when the victim arrived outside the Wawa on 5900 Bristol Pike in Bristol, Pennsylvania, where she met 46-year-old Richard Phillips, according to investigators.
The woman, who knew Phillips, then entered his vehicle, a white 2014 Chevrolet Silverado, according to the criminal complaint. The woman believed he was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time, investigators said.
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Phillips began acting aggressive toward the woman and poked at her, according to the criminal complaint. He then allegedly put her in a headlock and told her to get out of the pickup truck. The woman told Phillips she had to go to the bathroom and began walking towards the Wawa in an attempt to escape, police said.
Surveillance video showed Phillips reaching into his pockets and pulling out an item, according to the criminal complaint. Police said Phillips then followed the woman and grabbed her before she could enter the Wawa. He began pulling her back towards his pickup truck while telling her that he was armed with a knife and that he would kill her if she didn't get back into the vehicle, according to investigators.
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After the woman went back into his pickup truck, Phillips drove her to his friend's home on Mulberry Street in Bristol, about 2.2 miles away from the Wawa, investigators said. Phillips took the woman's keys and her cellphone, according to the criminal complaint. He then told his friend to go back to the Wawa to get the woman's vehicle, investigators said.
Once the friend returned with her vehicle, the woman begged Phillips to allow her to leave but he grabbed her and told her she wasn't going anywhere, according to the criminal complaint. The woman then pushed Phillips away, ran out of the home, continued down the street and then hid behind a nearby church for more than 45 minutes, investigators said.
The woman then returned to the home on Mulberry Street and spoke with Phillips' friend, asking him for her phone and keys to her vehicle, according to the criminal complaint. The woman got her phone and keys and then escaped from the area once again, police said. She then called 911 on April 20 at 6:15 a.m. and reported the incident.
Police charged Phillips with kidnapping, false imprisonment, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment and they continue to search for him. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Bristol Township Police at 215-785-4040.
