MADISON, Fla. (WTXL) - A man has been arrested after a woman he kidnapped at knifepoint managed to escape by asking a local cashier to call for help.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office says that one minute into New Year's Day, they received a 911 call from a cashier at Jimmies Auto Port. The cashier said that a woman had come into a store and asked her to call for help because she had been kidnapped and was being held by a man with a knife.
Deputies immediately responded and when they arrived, the woman was still in the store, accompanied by the suspect.
The victim revealed she was the girlfriend of the male suspect, identified as Justin Haden, and said she initially got in the car with the him willingly.
However, as he kept driving, the victim asked to be taken home. That's when Haden refused and pulled a knife on the victim, threatening to cut her. The victim said suspect kept the knife in his lap while continuing to drive.
The victim told deputies she begged Haden to take her home but he became physical, punching the victim numerous times in the face while driving and repeatedly threatening to kill her with the knife if she continued pleading.
Haden then took her cell phone away to prevent her from calling for help.
When they arrived at Jimmies Auto Port, the victim said she found an opportunity to briefly ask the cashier to call for help.
Investigators say the victim had suffered obvious injuries consistent with her statement.
When they spoke to Haden, he said that he had taken the victim away from where she was having problems and confirmed that he had a knife and assaulted her.
Deputies say the vehicle Haden was driving at the time of the incident was registered to the victim. During a search of the car, deputies found Haden’s personal belongings packed inside and none of the victim's, except the victim's cell phone.
