HOUSTON-When you think of crime, places like the Rice Epicurian Market on Westheimer or the tony River Oaks area don’t usually come to mind.
But last February, police say a group of abductors tried – and failed – to kidnap a woman from the upscale grocer’s parking lot.
Then, just days later, police say the suspects tried again in a nearby River Oaks neighborhood, stopping their car to abduct a woman on her morning jog.
"The target was another white female. She had items in both of her hands," HPD Sgt. Brian Harris said.
Clayton Haulcy, 26, was arrested Thursday.
"I remember kicking and screaming," the woman, who wished to conceal her identity, said. "That’s when I was beaten over the head with a large black baton and then stuffed into the trunk."
The woman put up such a fight that one of the suspects dropped a key piece of evidence: a cell phone.
From that phone, police were able to get names, contact numbers and DNA.
"Thank God the trunk latch glowed in the dark," the victim said.
Luis Salcido and Adam Herrera
The abducted woman was able to pull the latch and escape from the moving vehicle.
"I had three young children at home, and I knew what the end result would likely be if I remained in the trunk," she said.
On Tuesday, police charged Clayton Haulcy with the kidnapping.
On Friday, they released images of the two men they believe masterminded the plot: Luis Salcido and Adam Herrera.
Salcido and Herrera are still on the run. Police believe they met in prison.
"Their plot of a great, big crime — a great kidnapping — unfolded. They had been reading books on kidnapping and how to commit this crime," Harris said.
Police believe the suspects came to the neighborhood for ransom money – money that, thankfully, they never got.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Salcido or Herrera is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS (8477).
You could be eligible for a cash award of up to $11,000.