An Amish woman in Pennsylvania reportedly used a weed whacker to frighten away a man who allegedly approached her with a knife and attempted to kidnap her while she worked in her yard, according to local reports and the Department of Homeland Security.
Junior Jose Davila-Moran, 26, allegedly came up behind the 23-year-old woman carrying a large knife and black handcuffs as she trimmed weeds outside her home in Lancaster County on Oct. 14, Local 12 News reported.
According to police, the armed man attempted to restrain the woman and told her that everything would be fine if she cooperated.
The woman responded by screaming and stepping toward him while revving the weed whacker’s engine. Her quick reaction reportedly startled the suspect, who fled, according to an affidavit obtained by the station.
Davila-Moran allegedly ran behind the woman’s wooden barn before disappearing from the Sadsbury Township property.
The woman then ran to a nearby neighbor’s home and called police. Investigators later found disturbed vegetation near the barn, marking the area where the suspect was believed to have escaped, the outlet reported.
Police identified Davila-Moran after a truck registered to his father was captured on a neighbor’s security camera and noticed by a witness.
Authorities said the suspect also matched the description provided by the woman, who later identified Davila-Moran in a photo lineup.
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After viewing his photograph, the woman told investigators, “This photograph makes me tremble,” according to the station.
She described the weapon as a long, serrated knife with a blade measuring approximately six to eight inches.
A DHS spokesperson told The Post that Davila-Moran is a Guatemalan national who is unlawfully present in the United States.
DHS said Border Patrol agents arrested him in Donna, Texas, in January 2018 after he entered the country illegally. Because he was a juvenile at the time, he was transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that Davila-Moran was taken into custody on Oct. 16 in connection with the alleged attempted kidnapping.
He faces multiple charges, including terroristic threats with intent to terrorize, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping to inflict injury or terror, and kidnapping to facilitate a felony.
Davila-Moran was booked into Lancaster County Jail, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against him.
“The safest way to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets is by lodging arrest detainers. 7 of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE,” the DHS spokesperson said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, our message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in our country.”
