Woman fakes her own kidnapping, steals a truck and leads cops on chase, NC police say
A woman led cops on a chase in North Carolina after officials say she faked her own kidnapping to steal a truck.
Virginia Saavedra, 37, came up to a man’s house in Sophia on Wednesday and told him she had just escaped a kidnapping attempt from a man she didn’t know, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon hearing this, the man let Saavedra sit in his truck so she could warm up while he called police for her, the Sheriff’s Office said.
But as he dialed 911, she took off in his truck, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were responding to the man’s 911 call when they saw the stolen truck traveling toward Archdale and tried to stop it, the Sheriff’s Office says.
Saavedra fled and led the deputies on a 26-mile chase that the Sheriff’s Office says went onto Interstate 85 in neighboring Davidson County.
As she approached a rest stop, Saavedra did a U-turn on the interstate and started driving north in the southbound lane, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies then boxed her in, and the stolen truck got stuck on the grassy shoulder, the Sheriff’s Office says.
As deputies attempted to arrest Saavedra, the Sheriff’s Office says she put the truck in reverse and rammed a patrol car. She then tried to run away “but was detained.”
She originally gave deputies a fake name upon her arrest, but was correctly identified by detention officers when she got to jail, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Saavedra is charged with:
▪ Felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official
▪ Felony larceny of motor vehicle
▪ Felony flee/elude arrest with motor vehicle
▪ Felony possession of stolen motor vehicle
▪ Misdemeanor injury of personal property
▪ Misdemeanor resist public officer
▪ Aggressive driving
▪ Driving while license revoked
▪ Fail to heed light/siren
▪ Speeding
▪ Illegal passing
▪ Stop light violation
▪ Driving the wrong way on a divided highway
More charges are “forthcoming,” the Sheriff’s Office says, and Saavedra is being held at the Randolph County Detention Center under a $150,000 bond “with Electronic House Arrest.”
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Woman fakes her own kidnapping, steals a truck and leads cops on chase, NC police say."
