85-year-old ‘hero’ stops man posing as utility worker trying to kidnap woman, authorities say
JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. (TMX/Gray News) — An Oregon man is accused of posing as a utility worker in an effort to kidnap a woman, but he was thwarted by an 85-year-old bystander, authorities said.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said Matthew Hokulii Aranda, 42, was indicted by a Jackson County grand jury last week on two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping, second-degree attempted kidnapping, two counts of stalking, unlawful use of a global positioning system device, unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing.
On May 8, Aranda allegedly disguised himself as a utility worker then lay in wait for “several hours” while the 25-year-old victim worked as a caregiver at a mobile home park in rural Medford. When she emerged, he allegedly used a Taser to “incapacitate and physically attack her,” the sheriff’s office said.
That was when an “85-year-old hero” heard the victim screaming and confronted the suspect, allowing her to escape to her vehicle, authorities said.
Aranda allegedly Tasered the 85-year-old, then chased the victim with a large hunting knife. She managed to get inside her car safely, but Aranda allegedly jumped onto the hood of her vehicle. She drove away, causing Aranda to fall off the vehicle and sustain injuries.
Body-worn camera video shared by the sheriff’s office showed deputies and a K-9 locating Aranda hiding in some nearby bushes and taking him into custody.
Authorities said Aranda previously served six years in prison following a 2016 conviction for delivering a controlled substance to a minor, using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and stalking. Charges of first-degree rape, sexual abuse, encouraging child sexual abuse and coercion were dropped as part of the final plea deal.
The sheriff’s office said it was assisted in the current case by Oregon State Police, the Medford Police Department and the Jacksonville Police Department, and that the investigation is ongoing.
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