A homeless man allegedly injected a student with an unknown substance and attempted to abduct him outside if a Texas high school.
The shocking incident took place near Aldine High School in Harris County at the beginning of the month.
Authorities say the ordeal began when school staff spotted a student appearing disoriented and unsteady near a shopping plaza close to the campus on October 1.
The Aldine Independent School District said employees immediately grew concerned when they noticed a man acting suspiciously near the teenager.
Police were called as the man reportedly grabbed the student, an act captured on video by one of the staff members.
Responding officers found the student unresponsive and quickly summoned emergency medical personnel, who provided treatment until the student regained consciousness.
Once coherent, the student told investigators that the man had injected him with a mysterious substance.
The suspect was later identified as Ted Fleming, a homeless man with a lengthy criminal record that includes 38 prior arrests for crimes such as deadly conduct, multiple terrorist threats, indecent exposure, evading police, and trespassing.
He now faces several charges, including kidnapping, failure to register as a sex offender, and entering school property without permission.
A Crime Stoppers advocate told WTHR-TV that the student’s life may have been spared thanks to the actions of the school staff.
“This is the first time I’ve seen or heard of a case where somebody was actually injected,” Andy Kahan said.
“God only knows what would have happened to him if he would have actually followed through and had been able to actually kidnap him as well,” he added.
Police later released Fleming’s booking photo, which shows him smiling shortly after being taken into custody.
Officials from the Aldine Independent School District issued a statement assuring the community that increased security measures were being put in place.
“The Aldine ISD Police will increase patrols around the Aldine High School area,” the district said. “The safety and well-being of our students and staff will always be our top priority.”
Prosecutors requested that bail be set at $250,000, citing Fleming’s extensive criminal background and potential risk to the community.
However, a judge reduced the amount to $150,000 after Fleming’s public defender argued for a much lower figure of $17,000.
In a separate case across the country, authorities in California charged a 28-year-old man from New York who allegedly forced a woman to drive with him across the United States while subjecting her to abuse and coercing her into criminal acts.
Rahson Govantes was taken into police custody and faces multiple felony charges, including aggravated mayhem, torture, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies began investigating the situation on Saturday afternoon after receiving a report of suspicious people loitering outside a Sephora store at The Shoppes at Chino Hills.
Officers detained Govantes and a woman at the scene. During the search, deputies reportedly discovered fraudulent identification documents, Social Security cards, and debit cards in their possession.
According to the sheriff’s office, the 51-year-old woman told investigators she had been “kidnapped and forced to travel across the country” with Govantes and an unidentified female accomplice.
The victim said the ordeal began when she was coerced into joining the pair to help them commit fraud as repayment for debts she allegedly owed the suspect.
The victim further alleged that Govantes and the woman tortured her during the trip, burning her with cigarettes and a curling iron.
Authorities have not yet identified the female suspect but believe Govantes may have additional victims.
His booking photo has been released to the public, and he remains in custody without bail at the San Bernardino County Jail.
Meanwhile, in Florida, police uncovered a disturbing case involving two armed suspects accused of tracking a couple using an Apple AirTag before forcing them into their home at gunpoint.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the terrifying home invasion took place on August 19 in Odessa, Florida.
Investigators say suspects Luis Charles, 26, and Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez, 32, allegedly attached an AirTag tracking device to the couple’s SUV to monitor their movements.
Once the victims returned home, the pair reportedly ambushed them in their driveway and forced them inside at gunpoint.
Surveillance footage released by the sheriff’s office shows the masked suspects running up to both sides of the vehicle as the victims step out.
Within moments, the couple is seen being herded into their garage before an alarm goes off, prompting the intruders to flee.
“Suspects forced the victims into their garage at gunpoint before fleeing when an alarm was triggered. Detectives later discovered an AirTag tracking device taped beneath the victim’s vehicle,” the department said in a statement posted to Facebook.
Charles and Maldonado-Rodriguez were later arrested and now face charges including armed burglary, two counts of armed kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment, and illegal installation of a tracking device.
Sheriff Chad Chronister condemned the attack, describing it as an assault on one of the most sacred places for any family. “
To be ambushed at gunpoint in the very place you should feel safest is every family’s worst nightmare,” he said.
“Thanks to the work of our detectives, these dangerous criminals are now behind bars where they belong, and the victims, along with our community, can rest a little easier.”
Authorities arrested Charles on October 8 in Tampa and notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement following his booking.
He also faces a separate charge of sexual battery by a familial or custodial authority on a person between the ages of 12 and 18.
Maldonado-Rodriguez was taken into custody two days later in neighboring Pasco County.
