Man arrested in alleged kidnapping where woman escaped from trunk of moving car
The victim was able to open the trunk when the suspect stopped at a gas station.
— -- Police arrested and charged a suspect on Wednesday in connection with an alleged Alabama kidnapping that ended when the victim escaped from the trunk of a moving car.
The suspect, Manuel Towns, is charged with the fraudulent use of a credit card, robbery in the first degree and kidnapping in the first degree in connection with the March 14, incident, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
The Birmingham Police Department sent out notice of the arrest via Twitter on Wednesday and posted an image of the suspect.
Towns is currently being held at the Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham on $500,000 bail, the office said. It is not clear whether he is represented by an attorney or has entered a plea.
The victim is identified as 25-year-old Brittany Diggs, according to the Associated Press. Police said that she reported walking to her apartment in Birmingham last week when an unknown man approached her with a gun and demanded money.
Diggs told police that after she told him she didn't have any money, the man forced her to drive around and later to get into the trunk.
While she was in the trunk, he eventually drove to a gas station and convenience store, where she was able to open the trunk and escape as the vehicle was starting to pull away, police said. She then ran inside and called 911 for help.
Diggs suffered minor injuries when she jumped out of the car, according to ABC News affiliate WBMA in Birmingham.
ABC News' Matt Foster contributed to this report.
