It is impossible never to let your guard down, but for some violent scum, a moment is all it takes to act out their filthy desires. When 21-year-old student Jaila Gladden left her apartment in Carrollton, Georgia to Kroger's grocery store, she didn't think that evening would change her life forever. A man in the parking lot reportedly asked her for a lighter. Jaila responded she didn't have one, but the guy kept following her. Once at her car, she felt a knife pressed against her.
They both got in the car. The alleged attacker turned to Jaila and asked if she knew how to get to Atlanta, about 50 miles away. After some time, the man parked the car behind an abandoned church. Gladden claimed it was then he demanded her to take off her clothes. She pleaded with him, but he said there was "no purpose in crying." Gladden said he then raped her inside the car.
After the sexual assault, they continued driving. When the man asked for directions to a gas station, Jaila had a genius idea. She said she needed her phone to google the locations, and it was enough to convince the guy to give it back. Quickly, she shared her location with her boyfriend, Tamir Bryant.
"It was the most logical thing to do," she said. "Kid napped," she texted after Bryant asked why she was in Atlanta. The kidnapper hadn't realized she was searching out for help while typing. Tamir rushed to the local police station which notified the Atlanta Police Department.
During that time, a police officer in Atlanta saw a car matching the description in a parking lot. Its engine was running, and the lights were turned off. Once the man spotted the officer, he turned the lights on and sped toward the exit, colliding with four cars and the parked patrol car. The kidnapper was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault, sexual abuse, aggravated sodomy, kidnapping and abduction, and aggravated assault against a police officer. He is currently awaiting trial. Thanks to her fast thinking, Gladden saved herself with her phone.
21-year-old student Jaila Gladden was kidnapped in a parking lot in Georgia
Image credits: Jaila Symone Gladden
She felt a knife pressed against her while trying to get inside the car
Image credits: Google Earth
The man drove them behind an abandoned church and raped her
Image credits: Diverse Images/Getty Images
After he was done, the attacker took her to Atlanta. He asked where the nearest gas stations were
Jaila convinced him she needed her phone to google the locations. She turned the screen’s brightness down and secretly shared her location in a text to her boyfriend
"I immediately realized it was serious"
"She would never play like that, she would never say that for no reason"
Her boyfriend rushed to the local police station which notified the Atlanta Police Department
Image credits: Jaila Symone Gladden
A police officer in Atlanta saw a car matching the description in a parking lot. Soon, the suspect was arrested
Image credits: Mike Focus