(May 30, 2008)—Anthony Michael Garcia, 19, of Waco has been charged with aggravated robbery in connection with the abduction and robbery of a 22-year-old Baylor University coed who was kidnapped at gunpoint by two men on May 17 as she walked in the 1400 block of James Avenue.
The coed was forced to drive to another part of town where she was robbed.
She escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle, breaking both of her arms.
She was able to get to a nearby residence to seek help.
Police found her vehicle abandoned several blocks away.
Police said Friday they have not yet identified the second man involved in the abduction.
Garcia is held on bonds totaling $162,000.
He’s also charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery in connection with two other carjackings in Waco.
Robinson police arrested Garcia and Billie Jo Allen, 21, of Waco after a traffic stop around 8 p.m. on May 22.
Allen, who was driving, pulled over, but police said Garcia attempted to escape on foot.
Robinson officers, however, captured him.
At the time of the arrest, Allen was already wanted for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping in connection with an incident in which a man who was invited to accompany a woman back to her apartment was kidnapped and robbed by two men.
Police found Joe Lewis, 34, with a gunshot wound to the groin just before 6 a.m. May 22 in the 3300 block of North 20th Street.
Lewis told officers a woman had invited him earlier that morning to her apartment in the South Terrace Apartment complex.
He told officers that while he was there, two Hispanic men who were arguing with each other entered the apartment.
One suddenly pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Lewis, who was then tied up and forced into the back seat of his red 2007 Dodge Quad Cab.
Lewis told officers the men drove him to the intersection of North 20th Street and Edna Avenue, where they took him out of the truck and shot him.
The men then drove off in Lewis’ truck, with his maroon 2007 Suzuki motorcycle in the bed.
Lewis made his way to a nearby residence and asked the homeowner to call police.
He was taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center with what police said were non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle found the stolen truck with the motorcycle still in the back in an alley between the 2200 blocks of Alexander and Mitchell Avenues.
Garcia was charged with aggravated kidnapping in that incident, and Allen and Garcia were also charged with aggravated robbery in connection with an early-morning hold-up on May 21.
In that incident, Waco officers were dispatched to a report of an early-morning carjacking in the area of South 12th Street and Gurley Lane.
Juan Salas of Waco reported to police that as he was about to get out of his vehicle, two men approached on foot, brandished a small pistol and forced him out of the truck.
Salas threw the keys of his black 1996 Chevrolet truck and ran to hide behind a nearby church.
As Salas was calling the police, he saw the men take his truck and drive north on South 12th Street.
Police pursued the vehicle, but the men escaped on foot after the truck crashed into a tree at the Brazos Place Apartment Complex in the 600 block of South University Parks Drive.
Police are still looking for a second man, Augustine “Tito” Perez, 20, also of Waco, in connection with the carjackings last week.
Police are asking anyone with information about the incidents to call either the Waco Police Department at (254) 750-7500 or Waco Crime Stoppers at (254) 753-HELP.
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