A 47-year-old Bristol man sits in county jail after being arrested Sunday night on a felony charge for an alleged kidnapping and related offenses back in April of this year.
The alleged kidnapping took place on Friday, 4/19/24 at 11:30 p.m., when the female victim arrived at Wawa on Green Lane to meet with her longtime boyfriend, Richard Phillips, in the parking lot. When she arrived, Phillips entered her vehicle and the victim thought he was ‘high’ on methamphetamine. He grew aggressive with her. She said Phillips poked at her, grabbed her in a headlock, and told her to get out of the vehicle. She exited the vehicle out of fear and Phillips told her to get into his vehicle, a 2014 white Chevrolet Silverado, bearing PA registration ZPX1976. The victim, remaining scared, told Phillips she had to go to the bathroom and headed towards the Wawa in an attempt to get away from him, police said.
Wawa parking lot camera footage obtained by police showed the suspect retrieve an item after reaching in his pockets and waistline. He followed the victim and grabbed her before entering Wawa. Phillips began to pull her back towards the direction of his vehicle, telling her that he had a knife and to get in his vehicle or he was going to kill her. The camera footage showed suspect holding the item he retrieved, according to the affidavit.
The camera footage continued to show the victim fearfully complying with Phillips, walking back across the parking lot, a distance of around 30 yards, towards his truck. Phillips continued to say he was going to kill her if she did not get in the truck. She entered the truck and saw the knife by which she was threatened, said police.
Phillips drove his vehicle, with the victim, to his friend’s house on Mulberry Street in Bristol. The victim said she was not allowed to leave and Phillips made her stay by taking her vehicle keys and cell phone. Phillips then sent his friend back to the Wawa to retrieve her vehicle, said in the probable cause.
Once the friend returned with the vehicle, the victim pleaded to Phillips for her to leave, but Phillips grabbed her and said she was not going anywhere. She pushed Phillips away then ran from the property to a church and hid for over 45 minutes. She returned to Mulberry St. She was able to retrieve her phone and keys to her vehicle after asking Phillip’s friend for them. She escaped the area and called 911 at 6:15 a.m. reporting the incident to the Bristol Borough Police Department, who then instructed her to report the incident to the Bristol Township Police Department, said in the criminal complaint.
Phillips is charged with one felony count of kidnapping to inflict injury/terror and also charged with false imprisonment, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment. Late Sunday night, he was arraigned by on-call Judge John T. Galloway, remanded to Bucks County Correctional Facility (BCCF) in lieu of bail set at 10%/$200,000. His preliminary hearing is set for June 26, 2024, according to court records.
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