New York Story: Big Trouble In Little Manhattan

TRIGGER WARNING: Potential Kidnapping

During quarantine I had the bright idea that I was going to sell everything I owned. It was a desperate time for me as I was paying $2500 a month in rent after my roommates moved out because of COVID. I had great experiences selling furniture and other big ticket items, and met really lovely people. 

One day as I was cleaning out my room I found my old iPhone 6 and decided to try to sell it. I received multiple offers within the first couple minutes of posting it. I set up a meeting time with one of the first people interested and made sure to chose a place far enough from home so they couldn't know where I live. 

I chose a place between a very populated grocery store and a post office. It was about 10 blocks and 2 avenues over from my apartment and I thought I was super smart to choose such a busy place to meet the person. 

As I was walking over to the meeting spot the guy started sending weird messages. It started with "wow you're really pretty". The next message said "you have a really nice smile". I chose to ignore those messages because it was highly inappropriate for a business meet up. He messaged when he got there and I responded that I was on my way. 

The guy told me that he was in his car and how to identify the car. I crossed the street and saw the car from a block away. My senses started going crazy. It felt wrong. My heart started beating really quickly, I felt my breathing increase, and I started to feel super anxious. 

The guy had parked next to a fire hydrant, and his front tire was in the street obviously parked for a quick get-a-way. As I am walking I hear a voice screaming at me "girl, don't you do it, don't you go over to his car". The feelings intensified as I got closer and closer to the car. It was like time was standing still. I was walking and the terrible feeling kept getting more intense.

As I approached the car the guy sent another message. "I see you, come into the car". I was like  "??????" He then messaged again. "Get into the car". I messaged a simple "no". I went to the driver side window and he cracked the window so I couldn't see his face. Honestly, I should have gotten the freaking hell out of there but I was concerned about my seller rating on Facebook. I know, I know, I'm an idiot. 

He rolled the window down a bit and said again "Get in the car". I vehemently shook my head and said, "absolutely not". At this point he let out an exasperated sigh and rolled the window down even more. I now had a clear view of his face and so did the 10-20 people in line at the post office. 

He was obviously frustrated about me not getting in the car, and looked at the phone super half-assed. He said, "give me your SIM card". I said, "sorry I can't do that". Angerly he says, "Well, how am I supposed to know if it works?" At this point the nervous feeling is making me feel like I'm going to pass out, so I know I need to get out of the situation. I put on a false bravado and I looked the guy in the eye and told him, "Look, do you want the phone or not? I have tons of other people I could sell to. You should have brought your own SIM if you really wanted to test it." I made sure I was super loud and I kept inching my way closer to the line of people waiting at the post office and away from the guy. 

The man looked super pissed and gave me $40 for the phone and then threw it on the passenger seat after giving me the money. I practically RAN away from his car. I made sure I wasn't being followed by zig-zagging through the streets and then ordering at a restaurant and waiting in the lobby for 30 minutes. 

This happened in the peak of the 2020 human trafficking scare, so I was super freaked out. I called one of my friend's and told her about the experience. She advised me to submit a police report about the experience so I did. I reported the guy and sent a description of his car to police. I am not sure what would have happened if I had gotten into the car but I am certain it would not have been anything good. I know that a more submissive woman probably would have gotten intimidated by this guy and gotten into the car with him. I know for sure he had bad intentions toward me and I am so grateful for my anxiety and my internal compass for keeping me safe. 

So that's the story of the time I almost got kidnapped in Manhattan...

Addition Reflection 

This post is a way for me to process the experience, but I also have a lot of anxiety about what could have happened on that fateful day of May 21, 2020. I would love to create some kind of self-defense summit to help women identify signs and defend themselves against evil people like that guy Jeevan Singh. It was at 3pm on a weekday, in a heavily populate place, in broad daylight. I thought I was playing it safe, but this experience made me realize that it doesn't matter the time or location for evil people, they will strike when the opportunity is presented. 

The Report:

On May 22, 2020 I posted an ad on Facebook Marketplace to sell my old iPhone 6s. Jeevan expressed interest in purchasing it, and we set up a time and place to meet. I set up the meeting in an area I know to be populated (near a grocery store and the U.S. Post office). We agreed to meet at 3pm and on my walk to the meet up he messaged me, "You have a beautiful smile". While highly inappropriate for a business transaction, I decided to ignore the comment and continued walking. He then messaged me that he was in a Toyota Camry with tinted windows. The car was parked in such a way that made it clear that he was ready to make a fast get-away. The windows were not just tinted, they were so dark I could not see inside the car. He then messaged me to get into the car. I refused. He didn't roll down his window for a few minutes, and seemed agitated when he had to. He then gestured to me to get into the car and aggressively told me to get in the car. Again, I said no, and backed away from the door. There was a line of patrons waiting to get into the post office, so I tried to position myself as close to the line as I could. He was annoyed when given the phone, and kept making demands for me to give him my SIM card (not something previously discussed). When it was clear that I was not going to get in the car or get closer to his door, he seemed to give up. He gave me less money than was agreed upon, but honestly I couldn't care less about that. I am not sure why he was so insistent that I get into the car, but I am certain that his intentions were not harmless. 

When I submitted the police report I wrote this in my journal: I am reporting this incident because I am afraid that this man may have been aggressive with women before. I do not know his true intentions, but this man triggered a severe "flight or fight" response and it would be irresponsible to not put him on your radar.