The victim said she was pumping gas when the man showed her a gun and told her to give him a ride, an arrest affidavit says.
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A man currently on parole is accused of showing a handgun to a woman at a Highlands Ranch gas station and forcing her to drive him to a car rental location.
Thomas Eli Pratt, 42, faces charges of:
- First-degree kidnapping
- Felony menacing
- First-degree criminal trespassing
- Parole violation
According to an arrest affidavit, the victim, a 19-year-old woman, said she was filling up gas around 7 p.m. Friday at the Circle K at 9275 S. Broadway St. in Highlands Ranch when the unknown man approached her and asked whether she would give him a ride.
She said, “No,” but when the man lifted his shirt to show her a gun, she complied, the affidavit says.
She told investigators that the man put his belongings, which included a black bicycle, in her vehicle and got in the passenger seat. She said he told her to drive to an Enterprise location, so she did. When they got there, she reported he became “angry” because it was the wrong location.
The man told her to take him to the location on South Broadway in Englewood. She told investigators she dropped off the man and called her parents, who told her to call police. She did and ultimately met investigators back at the Circle K.
When interviewed by investigators, the woman said the man offered her V8 and chocolate milk during the drive and offered to pay her for the ride, the affidavit says. She said that during the rid, the man talked to her as if they were “two friends hanging out.” She said he talked about a “reptilian race,” God and human trafficking.
The woman told investigators that the talk about human trafficking made her scared.
The morning after the incident, investigators put out a news release asking for help locating the man. The release included security images of the man from Circle K.
That same day, a woman called and said she believed the suspect was the man she had recently hired to do some handy work. She said the man, whom she knew as Eli Thomas, had come to her house carrying a backpack with a silver water bottle attached to it, and had a black bicycle. The woman said he was speaking about God and aliens and made her uncomfortable, so she paid him $100 and asked him to leave, the affidavit says.
The clothing the woman described, as well as the backpack and water bottle, matched security footage of the suspect. The affidavit says the details about the man’s bag, water bottle and bike were not released to the public.
The woman said she had contacted the man through a Facebook post and investigators found a profile belonging to the man. Photos on the page showed that he had tattoos that matched ones described by the victim.
Pratt was arrested Sunday and is due in court on Thursday. According to the affidavit, he is currently on parole related to a prior conviction for robbery and trespassing.
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