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Attempted kidnapping thwarted by good Samaritans
People who live near a Clearwater Circle K where a man is accused to trying to kidnap a teenage girl said they are not surprised this happened. FOX 13’s Danielle Zulkosky reports.
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Residents living near a Clearwater Circle K gas station, where a man is accused of trying to kidnap a teenage girl, said he was no stranger to the area.
The backstory:
A homeless Clearwater man is accused of trying to kidnap a 15-year-old girl from a Circle K parking lot on Friday night.
Bystanders at the gas station stepped in and stopped 43-year-old Erik Butler from taking the girl who was reported as a runaway.
He got away but was found nearby and quickly arrested.
Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
Butler was charged with kidnapping, possession of cocaine, exposure of sexual organs and resisting arrest. He was taken to Pinellas County Jail.
What they're saying:
People in the area said Butler was known to hang around that spot in Clearwater.
"I'm not surprised because this area. This area is a mixture of good and bad I'm going to say," said Ronald Corker, a man familiar with the area. "It's not all bad but it's not all good either. Anything can happen nowadays. Anything can happen because of the way things are. I'm not saying this is the worst area to be in."
One man in the neighborhood near the gas station said he feels safe living in the area with his family.
"I don't feel unsafe. Granted, I'm a guy. That's a little different from a lot of people, but I don't feel unsafe or threatened about it," said Jared Amos, who lives in the area. "It's generally a good place and if something does happen, you've got people around."
The Source: Clearwater Police provided the charging and incident information for this story and Fox 13's Danielle Zulkosky interviewed the people quoted in this story.