Left: James Robert Allen (via Charlottesville (Va.) Police). Right: UVA professor Robert Emery (screenshot via WCAV).
A Virginia professor’s quick thinking and interference may have helped stop a kidnapping in progress.
Robert Emery, a professor who teaches psychology at the University of Virginia, said that he heard a commotion outside his house at around 9:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4. According to Charlottesville CBS affiliate WCAV, Emery and his family were getting ready for bed when they heard what sounded like a domestic dispute outside.
Emery told his wife immediately to call 911 before running out the front door himself, where he found a man hurriedly getting into a truck, the station reported.
“A man appeared from behind the truck, told me I was interfering and was clearly in a panic and then immediately jumped into the truck and drove down the street as fast as he could, crashing at the end of the street,” Emery told the station.
Emery, his wife, his daughter and her boyfriend followed the truck as the suspect, later identified as James Robert Allen, fled on foot after the crash.
A would-be kidnapping victim — a female UVA student — was found moments later, hiding behind a car. According to WCAV, she had fought her way free — and that struggle is what caused the truck to crash.
An emotional Emery told WCAV that he feels protective of UVA students like the victim.
“I have three daughters, a wife, a granddaughter, and I have 10,000 women at UVA I consider family,” he said.
A student witness at the scene told WCAV that the victim had duct tape on her wrist.
Emery said that the student “was clearly traumatized physically and emotionally.” His daughter went with her in the ambulance and was with her at the hospital, he added.
In a press release, Charlottesville police said that officers “received a call regarding a disorder” at around 9:40 p.m.
“The disorder resulted in multiple vehicles and trees being struck by a suspect’s vehicle,” the press release said. “Officers responded to the area and located a female victim who reported that an unknown male attempted to abduct her.”
Police said that Allen, 41, was a stranger to the victim.
Allen remained at large until the following day, when Charlottesville police announced that he was taken into custody at around 12:11 p.m. on Oct. 5.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was treated for injuries at UVA Medical Center and was in stable condition, according to Charlottesville police.
Court records show that Allen is currently in custody on charges of abduction and strangulation. His next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 14.
More from Law&Crime: ‘Help Me!’: Girl kidnapped at gunpoint, sexually assaulted and taken across country is rescued after waving desperate sign at strangers, officials say
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
