News 12 First at Five, November 12, 2008

AUGUSTA, Ga.---A man was behind bars Wednesday night and one woman is lucky to have escaped with her life.

21-year-old Albert Lee Ellison was arrested and charged with kidnapping and rape.

It was around 10 o'clock Tuesday night when an Augusta woman was being a good Samaritan, letting a stranger in out of the cold to use the restroom. Moments later she found herself fighting for her life.

Marquitta Graham works in the salon beside the Georgia Power where the attack happened Tuesday night. She saw a young man sitting behind the building, but didn't think anything of it. "I moved here from New York. So, to come here and be in Augusta and experience that -- it's unbelievable," says Marquitta.

Investigators say it happened behind the Georgia Power on Walton Way. The victim, a 54-year-old woman was doing her job, taking out the trash, when deputies say Albert Lee Ellison asked to use the restroom inside. He allegedly attacked the woman, dragged her to a nearby abandoned house and raped her. Investigators say after that, Ellison kidnapped the woman in her own car.

Ellison allegedly drove the victim about a mile up Walton Way until he hit a curb, blowing out a tire -- all in front of a Sheriff's Deputy.

"During the conversations he was having with her he was telling her that he was thinking about taking her some places and what he was gonna do to her and so forth. So, absolutely we could have been working a homicide. She's very lucky, very lucky," says Sergeant Calvin Chew, Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

Despite being too trusting at first, investigators say she did eventually do exactly what you should in that situation. "She did the right thing and she did everything he told her to do and when she found the first opportunity to escape, she was able to," says Sergeant Chew.

For Marquitta, she and her co-workers are going to be much more careful. She feels there's safety in numbers. "It's definitely going to put us on our guard. You know, when the ladies are leaving at night we'll make sure that there's two leaving instead of just one by herself," says Marquitta.

Being more cautious. It may take a few extra moments, but in a life and death situation, every moment counts.

Investigators also say the suspect, Albert Lee Ellison has no previous criminal history. This seems to be a random act, the 54-year-old victim did not know Ellison.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, investigators stressed to me not to ever let someone in that you don't know. Especially in this case, when it was late at night and she was alone. They say if someone comes around and makes you uncomfortable to call police.

Albert Ellison's family contacted News 12. They say he has paranoid schizophrenia and was recently released from Georgia Regional Hospital. They add he's been untreated and on the run for about a month, and they're very upset.

"As his family, we feel as though we failed him in some form of way and right now we're just left with a bag of guilt. We're shocked and we're remorseful, once again for the victim but we're just extremely upset," says Albert Ellison's aunt Crystal Jackson.

Relatives also say they'd contacted deputies trying to locate Albert Ellison, but he couldn't be found.