Man accused of domestic abuse kidnapping attempt in South Strabane Giant Eagle parking lot

SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man was arrested after an alleged domestic abuse kidnapping attempted at the Giant Eagle in South Strabane Township.

Witnesses say the incident happened just before 10 a.m. on Monday when they heard a woman screaming for help.

Police say Jose Zaragoza was attempting to pull a woman from her vehicle, choking her and covering her nose and mouth with his hands. Witnesses told police he approached her vehicle with a roll of duct tape in his hands, which was later seen on top of the vehicle.

Multiple people tried to intervene and Zaragoza ran away. He was caught at a traffic stop hours later and arrested.

“It’s not just scary to be in an abusive situation, it’s scary to intervene,” said Alexandra Brooks, of the Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA, which offers free services to women.

Brooks gave advice to anyone who finds themself a bystander to a domestic violence situation.

“Being direct is anything from stepping in saying, ‘Is everything OK here?’ A lot of time that at least gets the violence to deescalate, and the person who is being violent a lot of times will leave the situation.”

That was not the case last month after a different public domestic violence situation.

Police say William Edwards held a woman against her will for six hours, repeatedly assaulting her inside of a Northgate apartment complex in Washington.

The woman escaped by slipping out of his grip and her sweatshirt, sprinting and screaming for help through the apartment complex and parking lot. Police say she banged on doors and windows for help and begged a man in a truck for help but he drove off.

“It’s not always safe to intervene. Sometimes it’s not safe for the person who sees it happening or the person being harmed,” said Brooks.

“People aren’t sure what to do, they’re not sure if the situation is safe to intervene, but really everybody can do something. And even the smallest step of action is better than not taking any action at all.”

Police did arrive at that Washington apartment complex, arresting Edwards and getting the victim help.

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