A woman’s harrowing kidnapping ordeal ended this past Sunday thanks to the swift actions of California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers. The incident began just after 10:30 a.m. when officers received a call reporting that a woman was being held against her will in a black passenger van.
Rio Linda Online contributor Mike Hawthorne was on his way home from work on Sunday morning at East Levee and Elverta Road when he saw a black Chrysler van with a female in the passenger side seat open the door attempting to exit the vehicle which was restricted by the driver. It stopped and pulled over for a second, then it took off very fast toward Highway 99 with the passenger door still open. He called CHP and was told that they had already received two calls on the situation.
Officers soon spotted a van matching the description on Elverta Road near Watt Avenue, but when they ordered the driver to stop, he ignored them and a high-speed chase ensued through Sacramento County.
According to CHP officers, the driver, later identified as Christopher Scott Johnson, 40, was armed and dangerous. Elk Grove officers joined the chase and finally stopped the van using a spike strip at Big Horn Boulevard and Amber Creek Way.
While officers were able to coax the woman out of the van, Johnson remained inside and allegedly brandished a weapon. CHP officers fired on the van, but thankfully no one was injured, and Johnson surrendered to authorities.
Johnson now faces charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and evading peace officers, as well as two outstanding misdemeanor warrants for charges of corporal injury of a spouse and battery against a person in a previous dating relationship. He is being held without bail at Sacramento County Main Jail and will be arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday.
Thanks to the brave actions of law enforcement officers, the woman is safe and sound.
