Rape victim justified in shooting, killing attacker, authorities say
By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com
Jefferson County, AL
Last month's shooting death of a man who abducted and raped a Jefferson County woman has been ruled justifiable, and authorities today released details about the hours-long horrific ordeal endured by the 26-year-old victim.
Jeremy Arnold Ford, 25, was killed Nov. 3 at Pebble Creek Apartments. The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. at the Forestdale apartment complex. When lawmen arrived on the scene, they found the woman in the parking lot and Ford dead inside the apartment from a gunshot wound.
The woman that night identified Ford as her abductor. She told investigators he forced her to the apartment and sexually assaulted her. At some point, she got hold of the gun and shot him. The two didn't know each other.
Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian today said their investigation revealed that the victim was abducted at gunpoint in Adamsville. The victim, who photographed sunrises and sunsets as a hobby, was in Adamsville waiting for the sun to set. Ford was visiting a friend and spotted her. It was then he approached her and abducted her. The abduction happened about 4 p.m.
Christian said the victim was raped and driven around to different locations the suspect wanted to visit. She dialed 911 once, but had to hang up before she could explain what was going on. There was also video surveillance from a convenience store where he made her go buy beer. She was mouthing, "I need help,'' but that help didn't come. The victim was in contact via text with her boyfriend, who also notified police. The victim was sending her boyfriend screen shot pin maps of where she was.
Eventually, the victim led Ford back to her boyfriend's apartment, thinking there would be people around and she could finally find help. Once inside, he raped her again. The victim was able to gain control of Ford's gun and shot him.
Lawmen arrived on the scene to find the victim half naked in the parking lot, with blood on her. Authorities said the 270-pound Ford fell on her after she shot him. She was sitting next to a gun that had been emptied of all bullets. Ford was dead in the apartment – his boxers still around his ankles. The rest of his clothes were nearby.
Court records show Ford was to have been in court the following day on charges of public intoxication and disorderly conduct. He was arrested on those charges in in September. Deputies were called on Sept. 16 to Martinique Drive on a report of a possible shooting. When they arrived at the Amberwood Apartment complex, according to records, they encountered Ford who told lawmen he had consumed a "six-pack of tall boys." Asked why he was there, Ford said he was planning to confront someone who stole his gun. At that time, he began to yell at a woman nearby, who he identified as his girlfriend, and cursed her. Deputies took him into custody on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges, at which point he turned to his grandmother and said, "(Expletive) this (expletive) Grandma. When I get out, I'm a shoot this place up."
Ford was arrested on a charge of making a terrorist threat last year, but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge and received a suspended sentence. Authorities said he threatened to steal a man's vehicle and threatened him harm with an assault rifle.
"I've been in this a long time. I don't know that I've ever seen someone go through a more frightening, brutal situation and keep their wits about them the way this young woman did,'' Christian said. "That resilience no doubt saved her life."
"She was confronted and raped at gunpoint, paraded around from place to place as if the suspect were showing her off. Every step of the way she mouthed that she needed help and either those that saw her didn't realize what she was saying or didn't want to get involved,'' he said. "She pin mapped her locations every stop to her boyfriend via mobile phone in hope he could have law enforcement intercept them. The suspect stayed just far enough ahead to evade that. Finally he took her back to this apartment and while continuing to assault her she saw her chance to get his gun and she ended his life before he could take hers."
"We investigated this case thoroughly and every witness and video we saw corroborated what happened,'' Christian said. "She is a remarkable woman and that's what kept her alive."