Man sought in kidnapping, ATM robbery

The female victim was able to get away and called for help at the home of Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker.

Posted 12:45 p.m. Feb 4, 2009 — Updated 9:12 p.m. Mar 9, 2009

RALEIGH, N.C. — A woman who says she was kidnapped from her Boylan Heights home in Raleigh on Monday and robbed sought help from her next door neighbor, Raleigh's mayor.

Amanda Reeder told police she answered a knock on the door at her McCulloch Street home Monday night and was confronted by a man who implied he had a weapon.

She said that he told her to take him to an ATM and that he forced her to withdraw $300.

The man then had the woman drive him to New Bern Avenue, where he got out of her vehicle and walked off, she told police. She wasn't physically harmed during the incident, police said.

Investigators said the assailant also took the woman's necklace and cell phone. She went to a neighbor's house, which happened to be the home of Mayor Charles Meeker, to call police.

"She made some good decisions about what should happen or what happened, and she was very, very lucky," Meeker's wife, Anne McLaurin, said. "And I think our job now is to make sure everyone else is safe."

The kidnapper is described as a heavyset black man in his 20s with a medium complexion and about 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He was wearing a hoodie-style jacket made of cloth with a tan camouflage pattern.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Raleigh Police Department’s Detective Division at 919-996-3555.

"It's very unusual to have that kind of crime in our neighborhood," said Meeker, who has lived in Boylan Heights for 30 years. "Occasionally, there will be a bicycle or something like that stolen. This kind of crime is very serious and something I don't recall happening in recent years."

Residents in the neighborhood say they have always watched out for one another and that this incident has put them on high alert.

"We live in a big city," said Adam Zaytoun. "This could happen anywhere you live, no matter what neighborhood."

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