MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) – A Yardley man was arrested less than 24 hours after he allegedly tried to rape and kidnap a woman in the parking lot of a Redner’s supermarket in Middletown Township Tuesday night.
Daniel Pierson, 41, faces multiple charges, including criminal attempt to kidnap to facilitate a crime, criminal attempt to kidnap to inflict injury or terror, criminal attempt to rape by force, and more .
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Thursday that Middletown Township police responded to a report of an attempted rape and assault of a woman in the parking lot of Redner’s off Lincoln Highway around 8:30 p.m.
The woman told officers that she parked her truck at the back of the parking lot and almost immediately after getting out, a man grabbed her from behind and she began screaming and fighting to get out of his grasp, as reported in the press release. They said the man wouldn’t let go and during the struggle he was able to pull down her pants, yelled at her to shut up and punched her in the face. The release goes on to say he picked the woman up and took her to his truck, but she continued to scream, which scared him and he ran back to his truck.
“Pierson is known to law enforcement as a methamphetamine user,” the statement said.
Pierson was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon after the truck, described by the woman as an older blue Ford F-150 or F-250, was found at a home near the 1500 block of Newport Road in Bristol Township. Officials said Pierson was driving another car.
The woman told officers the incident occurred between 7:50 PM and 8:10 PM and investigators were later able to identify a truck in the area that matched the woman’s descriptions. Officials said the truck was traced to someone related to Pierson. They said Pierson matched the description of the attacker.
Pierson was taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility with bail set at less than $1 million.
