ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - ORLANDO, Florida (WSVN) — Days after an attempted abduction and robbery at an Orlando Walmart, a woman is speaking out on the grocery trip that quickly became a fight for her life.
Security cameras captured the heart-stopping moments as Veronica Jones was attacked while loading groceries into her car.
“All of a sudden somebody grabbed me full body,” Jones said about the incident. “He kept pushing me, I was pinned against my car, he kept pushing me toward my trunk as he was pulling my purse at the same time.”
Jones was confronted by the culprit on Monday afternoon, at a Walmart parking lot in Central Florida.
The suspect, later identified as 54-year-old Juan Perez, held a knife to her throat and demanded her purse.
Police say he had been on federal probation for a previous attempted kidnapping,
“I was fighting for my purse, I said, ‘no. I got everything in there you’re not getting my purse,'” Jones said. “Then he put something to my neck, which he says, ‘If you don’t stop this, I’m going to slice your throat, if you don’t give me your purse.’ Now I’m going to go into survival mode and started screaming, but as soon as I did that, he had a gloved hand and he stuck it down my throat.”
Soon, a complete stranger stepped in, spooking Perez into running off.
“She heard me say help, so she got out of the car, and then at this time, we’re tugging on the purse and the only reason he got it is cause the strap broke,” said Jones.
“I just want to thank the girl that actually stopped though, because she stayed with me the whole time, she was a lot of help,” she said.
The next day, Perez was identified by police, found and arrested.
The report said, the GPS he was wearing, from a past criminal case, placed him there at the time of the attack. His car was also seen at the Walmart and his probation officer said the images from the store camera confirmed his identity.
“You were arrested for armed robbery with a deadly weapon,’ said a judge as Perez heard the charges he faced in court. He currently remains in custody, being held without bond.
Police said Jones had a cut on her neck, but is otherwise doing okay, simply glad she had some help.
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