A Charlotte man received hospital treatment after a karate instructor ‘intervened’ in a suspected attempted kidnapping.
Last week an alleged attempted kidnapping was thwarted in Charlotte, NC after a suspect chased their target into a karate studio. The ill-conceived pursuit resulted in the suspect spending the rest of his night in a hospital bed.
The Charlotte Observer reports that at 8:45 p.m on Thursday, January 4th — on Statesville Avenue in the north central section of the city — August Channing Williams, 46, allegedly tried to force a woman into his car outside of a strip mall.
Apparently, the woman was able to escape Williams’ grip and run from him. Authorities state that this prompted Williams to give chase. This is when the woman lead Williams into an encounter that might have saved her from serious harm.
The woman ran into Bushiken Karate Charlotte Dojo, closely followed by Williams. After Williams entered the studio a karate instructor “intervened and was assaulted [by Williams]” according to a press release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
CMPD officers were then called to the dojo, where they arrested Williams after a brief struggle. Williams was then wheeled from the scene in a stretcher, as captured by WSOC9-TV reporter Mark Barber.
We‘re ending the work week with quite a story.
A woman was nearly kidnapped in north Charlotte.
She broke free from the man and ran into a karate studio. He followed her but one of the karate instructors fought him off.
The suspect ended up on this stretcher. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/2wHlDTMi4e
— Mark Barber (@MBarberWSOC9) January 4, 2019
WSOC-TV spoke to Randall Ephraim, who is credited with subduing Williams. “He was very strong — very, very strong,” said Ephraim. “He weighed at least 200 [pounds] and some change, under the influence — very strong powerful individual.”
Captain J.D. Thomas of the CMPD said, “It’s a great thing the people in [the dojo] were able to help defend [the victim]” and that the victim was “extremely lucky” that there was a karate studio so close by.
After being arrested Williams was treated at a local hospital. He was transferred to the Mecklenburg County jail the following day. He was then charged with assault, attempted first-degree kidnapping, simple assault, resisting a public officer, injury to personal property, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
This isn’t the first time an alleged criminal made the mistake of trying to commit a crime inside a martial arts studio. Just last year, in Brazil, a suspected thief made the terrible decision of trying to knock off a Gracie Barra gym in Rio. Check here to see how that turned out.