A California woman is being hailed as a hero after she saved a woman from a group of alleged kidnappers. The woman, a gas station clerk, was caught on surveillance video Wednesday helping the alleged victim hide in the bathroom before police arrived.
Surveillance video from the Triple R Gas and Mart in Waterford, California, shows Savannah Pritchett talking to the victim before locking the store's front door. Pritchett told KCRA that the woman told her she had been kidnapped in Fresno on Tuesday and sexually assaulted overnight.
Pritchett is seen walking the woman toward the restroom, where she handed her a cell phone to call 911, before locking her in the bathroom. She then returned to the front door and let the kidnappers into the store.
"I knew that if I left the door locked, they would have caught on to something and probably took off. So I went back up there, and I unlocked the door. They seriously had no idea that I knew anything," Pritchett told KFSN.
Deputies from the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department arrived moments later with their guns drawn. They arrested 18-year-old Anthony Sandoval at the scene and later arrested two 16-year-old suspects. According to KCRA, authorities found a gun inside the suspects' car and another one in the store.
"Her being able to get this victim into a secured restroom with a phone and being able to contact law enforcement very well may have saved her life," sheriff's department Sgt. Tom Letras told KCRA.
The Modesto Bee reported that the victim told authorities that four men kidnapped her and held her against her will in Fresno County before taking her to Waterford. Letras said that Sandoval and the two 16-year-olds arrested were sought in a separate robbery case on Tuesday.
"It sounds like that started the crime spree," Letras told the newspaper. The three suspects, plus a fourth male who remains at large, are believed to be Waterford residents and gang members, the sergeant said.
Sandoval faces charges of robbery, criminal conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a firearm in Stanislaus County. Jail records showed Sandoval was being held on $1,200,000 bail. He is due in court on July 19. Letras said the kidnapping and sexual assault case was being handled by Fresno County authorities.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Nicole Rojas is a Breaking News Reporter for Newsweek. Nicole previously worked at International Business Times UK, where she covered breaking ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
