California woman fights off alleged kidnapper – who turns out to be her former housekeeper in disguise
Erin Quinn was attempting to pick up toys for a Christmas toy drive when she was allegedly attacked in her own car by a woman dressed in a blonde wig
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A California woman was tased multiple times in the head during an apparent kidnapping by a person in disguise whom she identified as her former housekeeper, police reported.
Erin Quinn had been out trying to collect items for a Christmas toy drive when she was allegedly violently attacked for more than 30 minutes in her car by a person wearing a blonde wig.
The person, Quinn claimed, was her housekeeper Olga Mendez, with whom she had no contact for over nine months.
The incident occurred on December 18 when Quinn, who lives in Temecula, received a text message asking her to pick up toys for the toy drive. The message came from an unknown number from someone who claimed to be an elderly woman named Connie, KTLA 5 reported.
When she arrived at the address Quinn got out of the car, but received no answer when she rang the doorbell. Another text message told her to wait in her vehicle so the items could be brought out to her.
Quinn claimed that the attacker, wearing a disguise, was waiting for her in the car when she got back in the vehicle.
“I had no idea someone was waiting for me, ready to attack and taser me in the head,” she said, in a message on a GoFundMe page. “I was tased over 30 times in the head. The one that lasted almost a minute nearly killed me.”
A struggle ensued in which Quinn said she tried “everything I could to get her off of me,” including kicking her assailant and even biting a portion of her finger off “in self-defense.” The vehicle crashed and Quinn was able to remove the wig – at which point she said she recognized Mendez.
“I strongly believe that her plan was to kidnap me and take me to Mexico for either ransom or sale,” she said.
Mendez allegedly fled the scene after a stranger intervened, and police officers were able to gather evidence including hair, the piece of finger, the taser, and the wig for evidence.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release that deputies initially investigated the incident as a domestic dispute, but quickly learned that it was a kidnapping attempt and an assault.
Responding officers took Quinn to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Mendez, 44, was later arrested in Paramount, 10 days after the assault. She has been charged with kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and two unrelated warrants, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.