Police: Victim’s details key to quick arrest
The woman kidnapped Friday afternoon from a Baton Rouge clinic and raped in another parish convinced her attacker that she was hungry and he left her at a fast-food restaurant on Nicholson Drive, police said Tuesday.
The woman also helped police find her attacker on Saturday by giving them details Michael Rushing, 47, 14185 Brown Road, Baker, told her during the abduction, Baton Rouge police spokesman Cpl. Tommy Stubbs said. Some of those details include where Rushing lived, how much property he owns and when he bought his red, four-door Chevrolet Silverado pickup, Stubbs said.
“The victim remained calm and engaged in conversation with her attacker,” Stubbs said. “By doing this, she ultimately saved her life and helped police make a speedy arrest.”
Rushing was arrested less than 24 hours after following his 22-year-old victim from a Denham Spring gas station to the Bone and Joint Clinic’s parking area on Hennessy Boulevard, Stubbs said.
Rushing pulled his pickup truck next to the woman, who was sitting in her vehicle smoking a cigarette, Stubbs said.
Rushing pointed a handgun at the woman and told her if she didn’t get into his pickup he would kill her, an arrest warrant says. The woman, fearing for her life, complied, the warrant says.
Rushing drove the victim to a wooded area near the Mississippi River in Sunshine, which is in Iberville Parish, the warrant says.
Rushing kept the woman there for several hours while talking to her about troubles he was having in his life, the warrant says.
Rushing also gave the woman a fake name, Stubbs said.
At one point, Rushing fired his gun toward the river to scare off anyone who may have been nearby, the warrant says.
Rushing then raped the woman, the warrant says.
After a few minutes, Rushing stopped and apologized to the woman, and let her put her clothes back on, the warrant says.
The woman later persuaded her attacker to stop at the McDonald’s restaurant at 4215 Nicholson Drive so she could get something to eat, Stubbs said. Rushing dropped the woman off at the restaurant and left, Stubbs said.
The woman later identified Rushing in a photo lineup after police developed him as a suspect by matching what the attacker shared with his victim to anonymous Crime Stopper tips, Stubbs said.
Rushing was arrested on Rollins Way in Zachary, Stubbs said.
An off-duty State Police detective noticed Rushing’s vehicle at a nearby gas station and notified area troopers and Zachary police, State Police spokesman Capt. Doug Cain said.
Zachary police officers pulled over Rushing, who was in his pickup with his wife and 7-year-old child, Zachary Police Chief David McDavid said. The officers found a handgun and an empty magazine to a rifle inside the vehicle, McDavid said.
Rushing was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count each of aggravated rape and second-degree kidnapping. His bail is $300,000.
Baton Rouge police have not named Rushing as a suspect in any other crimes, but will keep him in mind when investigating other unsolved rapes and abductions, Stubbs said.
Authorities with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and Denham Springs Police Department made similar comments about Rushing on Tuesday.