Affidavit provides details on woman's kidnapping

A weekend shopping trip turned into a terrifying ordeal for a 59-year-old Colorado Springs woman Saturday, when she was kidnapped and beaten by a stranger who accosted her in a Target parking lot.

Garnett Olivia Wright was rescued after freeing herself from duct-tape bonds and calling police. Authorities traced her through the GPS on her cell phone.

Timothy Allen Clapp, 41, is jailed on suspicion of kidnapping, assault, robbery and car theft.

He is being held on $50,000 bail.

A police affidavit released Monday describes the incident:

About 10:40 a.m. Saturday, Wright was getting into her car at the Target store on East Cheyenne Mountain Boulevard when Clapp - whom she did not know - shoved her into the car.

She handed $24 to him and said, "That's all I have. Now leave me alone."

Clapp forced her to the floor and told her to be quiet. When she screamed as loud as she could, he put his hands over her mouth and said he would drive to the back of the store and let her go.

Behind the store, he pulled a hard object, possibly a piece of wood, from his backpack and struck her several times in the head, until she pretended to be unconscious. Clapp then taped her mouth, wrists and ankles with duct tape and covered her with clothes in her back seat.

Clapp drove her around for a while - stopping periodically to vomit - and left the car in an apartment complex at 3005 Galley Road. After five minutes, she removed the tape and called for help. Officers found her lying in the front seat of her car, bleeding from her head.

Clapp was located in the apartment complex, where he had been walking around and asking to "hang out" in people's apartments. Police have said he appeared to be drunk.

Wright was in fair condition at a local hospital, according to a Colorado Springs police news release. Police said she is "not in a condition to grant any interviews."

Court records show Clapp has an extensive criminal history in Colorado, including three convictions for driving under the influence and five for domestic violence. Two women have taken out restraining orders against him.

During a 2001 traffic stop, after another driver reported he was driving drunk, Clapp fled from an El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputy, leading authorities on a chase, which ended when he became stuck in traffic and tried to flee on foot, according to court records. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

Last year, he was arrested on suspicion of criminal impersonation when police say he gave them a fake name. He served five days in jail, records show.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-1605 or scott.rappold@gazette.com