Man who offered to help a woman with a tire attacked her: police officers

A 31-year-old man in Texas is accused of posing as a good Samaritan and offering roadside assistance to a woman whose tire had blown out, then kidnapping and sexually assaulting her in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

Reynaldo Tapia-Arcibar was taken into custody Thursday and charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping: sexual abuse, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

Under Texas state law, aggravated kidnapping is a first-degree felony, punishable by a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

According to an Austin Police Department affidavit, at approximately 3:25 a.m. on Thursday, May 16, 2024, officers responded to a call for assistance from a woman in distress at the Wildwood Apartments in the 7000 block of Cameron Road in Austin. Police wrote that the female victim who called could be heard “screaming for help.”

When first responders arrived at the scene about 10 minutes later, they located the victim, who said Tapia-Arcibar had already fled the scene.

In an interview with police, the victim said she left her apartment in her car around 1:35 a.m. when one of her tires suddenly burst. She called roadside assistance and said she had been waiting for over an hour when a “boxy” white SUV pulled up and the driver – later identified as Tapia-Arcibar – offered to help her with her vehicle.

The victim said Tapia-Arcibar told her to wait in the passenger seat of his car and promised to take her to get a new tire before he “quickly closed the door behind her.”