MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 27-year-old man has been charged with kidnapping, terroristic threats and false imprisonment after police say he trapped his girlfriend in his car and threatened to kill her.
Authorities say they found William Eugene Lightfoot, of Maplewood, inside his vehicle on Dec. 7, after reporting to a call from his girlfriend who said she escaped from Lightfoot’s vehicle after he was holding her against her will, assaulting her and saying he was going to kill her.
Police found the woman laying on the floor inside a home on the 21000 block of Inga Avenue, near Hampton, Minn. She said she and her boyfriend had been traveling from St. Paul and she told him repeatedly she wanted to get out of the car. She said he refused to let her out, so she fled the vehicle while it was stopped at a stop sign.
The woman said Lightfoot chased after her, grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into the vehicle. She said she tried to get away again when they were at a gas station but Lightfoot held her in the vehicle.
She said while they were driving, Lightfoot slapped her in the face, punched her in the legs and pulled her hair several times.
As they were driving on Highway 52, she said he told her he “was going to kill” her. She said she told him to make it quick, and he responded “nope, I’m going to torture you.”
The woman said she tried again to escape, this time when the car was moving, and ran into a residence where she called 911.
The woman was transported via ambulance to Regina Medical Center.
Hastings Police located a vehicle matching the description of the one Lightfoot had been driving. When officers attempted to apprehend Lightfoot, he fled.
A K9 eventually located Lightfoot and he was placed under arrest.
Lightfoot’s criminal history indicates at least four prior domestic abuse no contact order convictions over the last 10 years, including two in 2012, one in 2011 and one in 2010.
