March 17, 2010

COLUMBIA CTY, Ga.---Columbia County investigators have arrested a man accused of rape and kidnapping.

Deputies say that in February they found the victim on the side of the road trying to flag down drivers. She told investigators that she jumped out of a vehicle because she was scared of the driver, Patrick Jairrels.

The victim told police that Jairrels had run from Decatur Police and stopped at the I-20 eastbound rest area around mile marker 181. She says that's when he raped her.

Patrick Jairrels is charged with rape and kidnapping.

He was arrested in Dekalb County the same day of the reported rape, February 11, for speeding, driving with a suspended license, fleeing, and impersonating an officer.

He was released from jail in Dekalb County on March 12 and arrested in Columbia County on March 16.