Lethbridge police have arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to a series of violent crimes over the past week.
Late Wednesday police confirmed they had taken a man into custody in connection to an attempted carjacking on Tuesday, as well as a separate kidnapping incident on Sunday night.
Lethbridge business owner and long time resident Rick Neudorf was the victim of the Tuesday carjacking attempt.
“An intruder gets in my vehicle, puts a knife to my throat and demands that I start driving away,” Neudorf said.
“I knew that something similar had happened before and I thought ‘I’m not going to be left out on the highway.'”
In a similar incident late Sunday, a man was carjacked in Lethbridge, threatened with a machete, then abandoned on the highway after being forced to take the carjacker to the Blood Reserve.
Neudorf was parked on a quiet, residential street near his son’s house when it happened to him.
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He says he was able to grab the knife out of the perpetrator’s hand, only to find out there was a second knife.
“That’s when the situation got very scary,” Neudorf said.
“The second knife could have been a whole different situation. He did threaten me. He said ‘I’m gonna kill you.'”
Neudorf was rescued by a good Samaritan who pulled the would-be carjacker out of the vehicle.
“I’m really thankful for it. If they hadn’t come to help, who knows what would have happened. It was really bad,” Neudorf said.
He says the two incidents occurring so close together is concerning for many in the community.
“I was born and raised in Lethbridge,” Neudorf said.
“We used to leave our doors unlocked. That’s not happening anymore.”
The man police arrested is also a suspect in a robbery that occurred in the 2300 block of 5 Avenue North early Wednesday.
Lethbridge police say their investigation is ongoing and charges are pending. More details are expected Thursday.