A stop for a snack at QuikTrip, then a stranger appears out of nowhere

She only wanted a drink and bag of chips while her son was at soccer practice, but in turn she got the scare of a lifetime.

Candace, who requested The Eagle keep her last name out for safety reasons, was the 38-year-old woman who found herself the target of an attempted carjacking Tuesday, Oct. 17, at a west-side QuikTrip.

Candace frequents QuikTrip at least once a day, but usually the one at 13th and Maize that recently moved to 13th and Tyler. The 21st Street store and 13th Street store are equally close to her home, where she is raising five children.

“I have never felt unsafe there,” she said, adding that she considers herself an observant and cautious person.

This time, she found herself at 21st and Ridge to fill up her GMC Yukon with gas and purchase a snack.

After fueling, she drove right up to the convenience store’s right-side door with only her debit card, rewards card and keys in hand. Her purse and phone were both in her locked vehicle.

She didn’t notice anybody around when she went inside.

“I went in for a few minutes – just enough time to choose a drink and get chips – and pay,” she said. “And on my way out I was still the only car parked in those few stalls on the side. I’m not sure if the guy was behind the building or where he could have come from because he was not visibly waiting anywhere close by.”

Candace said she left the store with her chips and drink in hand, went straight to the driver-side door and unlocked her car.

“I got in, sat down and turned to the left out of habit,” she said. “My hands were full of stuff when I then saw the guy coming over slowly.”

She thought the guy – the 26-year-old male suspect who has since been booked into jail – was a panhandler who planned to ask her for money.

“I tried to hurry to set my stuff down and shut my door so that I wouldn’t have to talk to him,” she said. “I turned to my right to set the stuff down, but as soon as I did that he was already in the opening of my door.”

When she saw him, he was holding a key in his hand, which looked like a knife pointing at her.

“He told me to scoot over, but clearly I couldn’t just slide over with a console in the middle,” she said. “In my mind, I thought I could push my way and get out, then he could take my car without me in it.”

“I remember grabbing my phone and was going to push my way through, and as I did that I turned to the left and that’s when I screamed and yelled for help,” she continued. “I couldn’t tell you what I said or if I just screamed.”

The loud noise must have startled or spooked him, she said, because he then took a step back and told her he wasn’t holding a knife, but just a key.

Candace said she didn’t say anything else to the suspect, but she was lucky in that when he got spooked, he also stepped back. She then had enough room to shut her car door and lock it.

“He walked away as calm as could be and just went on his way knowing that it didn’t work,” Candace said. She waited till he was 30 to 40 feet away before she ran into QuikTrip and yelled to call 911, which she realized she could have done from her phone if she were not so shaken up.

“I was shaking so much that I wasn’t even able to enter the code in my phone to even turn it on,” she said.

The police were called, but in the meantime witnesses got involved outside.

“The main officer told me there was just a scuffle and wouldn’t tell me anything else,” she said. “I appreciate (the witnesses who stepped in) a lot. A lot of times people mind their own business and don’t want to get involved, so I just appreciate it and am thankful they were willing to risk their safety.”

Now, Candace has been able to reflect on what happened.

“If you asked me a day before what I would do in this situation, I don’t know what I would do,” she said. Candace did go and buy Mace the next day for her keyring.

“But it’s hard to say if I even would have had enough time to use it,” she said. “And I’m not anti-gun, but even with a concealed carry I’m not sure there would have been enough time.”

And for the people who commented on the original story on social media, saying she should have been more aware or shut her door right away, she has a response:

“I was not just sitting there with my door open. I literally just got in my car and didn’t even have a chance to shut the door. I was aware. It happened so quick, and I don’t feel I could have done anything different to prevent it. It was broad daylight, he was not visible at all, but I do think me screaming was beneficial.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "A stop for a snack at QuikTrip, then a stranger appears out of nowhere."