CLEVELAND — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video in the player above is from a previous, unrelated story.
A man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and impersonating a police officer will be sentenced Wednesday, August 11.
Adam Rodriguez, 30, followed the 14-year-old girl as she was walking home from school near West 87th St. and Madison Ave. back on December 16, 2019. Rodriguez was driving a decommissioned police vehicle.
Rodriguez pulled up alongside her, told her he was a police officer and ordered her to get into the car. Rodriguez then drove her around, and she noticed a gun on the floor. She asked where he was taking her and he threatened to kill her. The teen then opened the door, jumped out and ran to a house nearby. The person inside that house took her home to safety before the police were notified.
“This victim experienced several minutes of sheer terror before courageously escaping,” said Prosecutor O’Malley. “Thankfully, a good Samaritan nearby was able to help her, otherwise this may have had a different ending.”
Upon investigation by the Cleveland Division of Police's Second District Detective Bureau, Rodriguez was linked to the crime through surveillance video. He was arrested two days later, and subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, one count of impersonating an officer and one count of having weapons under disability.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video in the player below is from a previous, unrelated story.