Man accused of kidnapping woman outside Food City dropped his cellphone in SUV

A man accused of kidnapping and threatening to stab a 55-year-old woman outside a Lower Valley grocery store left his cellphone inside the vehicle before allegedly fleeing, court documents state.

Vicente Favela, 35, allegedly accosted Blanca McDaniel as she was getting into her SUV about 9:30 a.m. Monday in the parking lot of the Food City at 7444 Gateway East.

Favela told to McDaniel not to scream and that he had a knife, though she never saw a knife, according to the arrest affidavit obtained by the ABC-7 I-Team.

Favela forced McDaniel into the vehicle and drove away, police said, but an officer driving in the opposite direction noticed the woman hanging outside of the passenger door screaming for help.

McDaniel, court documents state, pleaded with Favela to let her go, but he refused and told her he was taking her with him. When McDaniel screamed for help Favela allegedly hit her on her body and her neck. McDaniel told detectives Favela covered her mouth to get her to stop screaming, but she said she bit his hand and kicked him.

The officer made a U-turn and attempted to stop Favela, but Favela drove into a residential neighborhood and out of the officer’s sight.

The officer spotted McDaniel standing outside of her SUV on the 7300 block of Kingman. Police said she was visibly distraught. She said she found a cellphone in her vehicle that didn’t belong to her. Police determined that the cellphone belonged to Favela.

Favela had abandoned the SUV and allegedly ran from the scene. Police searched for the Favela with DPS Air Support and an El Paso Police K-9 unit.

He was arrested Monday evening at his home after detectives obtained a warrant aggravated kidnapping. Favela was booked into the El Paso County Jail with bond set at $100,000 bond. He also had traffic warrants.

Court documents state Favela admitted to the investigators that he took the vehicle in hopes of getting money. Favela also said McDaniel refused to get out of the vehicle before he drove off.

According to court documents, Favela is expected to go to trial on March 29, 2017 for a misdemeanor charge of family violence. He was arrested April 1, 2015, on suspicion of assault causing bodily injury on a family member.

McDaniel suffered minor injuries from the physical assault , but declined medical attention.