Man charged after assaulting woman in Pa. store parking lot

🔴 A woman told police she was grabbed from behind in a parking lot

🔴 She said her attacker punched her in the face when she continued screaming

🔴 The screaming scared the man off

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa — A man who tried to kidnap and rape a woman in a grocery store parking lot was taken into custody and is being held on $1 million bail.

Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn said a woman was attacked in the back parking lot of Redner's in the Langhorne Square Shopping Center just before 8 p.m. after parking her pickup truck. She was grabbed from behind by a man who would not let go as she screamed and struggled to break free.

The man, later identified as Daniel R. Pierson, 41, of Yardley, pulled the woman's pants down, lifted her up and carried her towards the truck, according to Schorn. He told her to stop screaming and punched her in the face.

Scared off by screaming

The woman continued screaming scared the Pierson off and he drove off in his own pick up.

Pierson was taken into custody on Wednesday after leaving a home on Newport Road in Bristol Township. He was charged with criminal attempt to commit kidnapping to facilitate a felony, criminal attempt to commit kidnapping to inflict injury or terror, criminal attempt to commit rape by forcible compulsion, criminal attempt to commit rape by threat of forcible compulsion, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and three counts of simple assault.

Schorn said Pierson is known to police to be a methamphetamine user.

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