Man allegedly kidnapped woman, held air freshener to her nose and mouth
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IDAHO FALLS — A 21-year-old man was charged with kidnapping after allegedly refusing to take a woman home, hiding her phone, and holding an air freshener to her face.
Noe Noe Chavez was charged with felony second-degree kidnapping, misdemeanor battery, and misdemeanor intentional destruction of a telephone line.
On Feb. 24, Idaho Falls Police arrived at McNeil Drive for a report that a woman had jumped out of a white Jeep and was trying to flag down strangers for help.
The reporting party who stopped to help her told dispatchers the woman asked him to call 911 because the man driving the white Jeep had taken her phone and refused to bring her home.
When police met with the man driving the white Jeep, identified as Chavez, he told officers he had originally tried to meet up with the woman to discuss a dance that night that she was going to with someone else.
He told officers he “just wanted to go on a drive to talk with her,” but she kept saying “bring me back bring me back,” and telling him that he was kidnapping her, according to court documents.
Chavez said the woman started hitting him and he told her to stop because he was swerving the car. He told officers he took her phone and lied to her about leaving it behind before hiding it in the center console of the vehicle.
Chavez reportedly stopped on McNeil Drive to “keep things under control” and get the woman to stop yelling. The woman then jumped out of the Jeep and waved down a car to stop and help her.
The victim’s version of the story differs from Chavez’s version.
The victim told officers she was on her way to see a friend when she saw Chavez parked on the road. She says she was not expecting him and assumed he was waiting for her.
She told officers that Chavez got out of his car and “opened her door aggressively, asked who she was going to see, and took her keys.”
He then jumped into the backseat of her car, so the victim tried to pull her phone out to call for help because Chavez was “getting aggressive” according to police records. It was at this point that Chavez reportedly took her phone.
Officers noticed there were broken bracelets in the back of the white Jeep, and the victim confirmed they were from this part of the argument.
The victim says Chavez then jumped out of her car and into his own, so she tried to follow him to get her keys and phone back until he started driving and “dragging her” while she was hanging out of the passenger seat, which forced her to get into his car.
She managed to jump out of his car and run toward hers, but Chavez reportedly locked it with her keys before she could get in.
Chavez then pulled up beside her and said “Just get in, I’ll take you.” The victim told police she was tired from running and got into the car, but Chavez quickly sped in the opposite direction of her friend’s home.
She told officers that when she realized he was not taking her where she wanted to go, she “tried to jump out and said, ‘I am not going with you,'” but Chavez grabbed her before she could get out of the car.
The woman then reportedly asked Chavez for a phone, so she could call her mom and let her know she was okay, but also to call for help.
She says she then heard her phone vibrating in the center console, but Chavez grabbed it and said she could only talk to her mom if he held the phone, and she “did it in a certain way,” according to court documents.
The victim says because she couldn’t stop crying, Chavez decided not to let her talk on the phone to her mom and said she “missed her chance” before again hiding the phone.
The victim said she attempted to throw punches toward Chavez in an attempt to get away, to which he responded with, “No, you’re going to stay with me. If you’re not going to be with me, you’re not going to be with anyone.”
According to the victim, once they parked on McNeil Drive, she began screaming, “Just take me back, you said you were going to take me back!” before Chavez grabbed the car’s air freshener and “shoved it over her nose and mouth” while telling her to “calm the f*** down.”
The victim said he held the air freshener over her face for about 25 seconds, causing her to open the car door to spit, and then jumped out of the Jeep to find help. Chavez reportedly tried again to grab her but missed.
When interviewed by police, Chavez denied grabbing the victim or holding the air freshener to her face but admitted to putting his finger on her mouth to quiet her.
According to the police report, because Chavez held the woman against her will, withheld her cell phone, grabbed her multiple times to keep her in the car, and held the air freshener to her face, he was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail.
His bond was set to $75,000, and a no-contact order was issued for the victim.
Though Chavez has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
Chavez is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 10. If convicted, he could face up to 26 and a half years in prison and $52,000 in fines.