23-year-old man accused of driving off with teen girl, threatening to shoot her dad, deputies say

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 23-year-old man is facing aggravated kidnapping charges after being accused of driving off with a 14-year-old girl in Houston's East Downtown area last week.

Precinct 6 constable deputies say the man reportedly made threats to shoot the child's father if he approached the car.

On the evening of Aug. 15, it was all hands on deck as law enforcement diligently looked for a 14-year-old girl taken from outside of her home in East Downtown.

"She willingly got in the car, but she did not expect him to drive off. Supposedly, he was going to use that firearm on her dad if dad approached that vehicle, so that would've been bad," Harris County Precinct 6 Constable's Office Sgt. Alvarado said.

Sgt. Alvarado says it's unclear how the teen met 23-year-old Ruben Elijah Rodriguez, but he says they had been texting for months and potentially met online.

When the victim's family noticed she was not inside the home, they found the pair sitting in a car near Avenue S and North Cesar Chavez Boulevard, not far from their home. Investigators say when family members went to confront the man, they realized he had a gun. As they asked him what he was doing with their daughter, he drove off.

"The suspect then takes off at a high rate of speed. Parents went back to the home, got in their own vehicle, and started looking for the suspect and their daughter," Sgt. Alvarado said.

The victim's family was able to get law enforcement to help them after flagging down a deputy on Navigation Boulevard. Investigators say the teen was simultaneously trying to get out of the car and that Rodriguez was inappropriately touching her and trying to take her to a hotel.

"She saw a lot of cops and kept pressuring him to let her go," Alvarado said.

Pct. 6 says the man eventually did right outside of Fire Station 17, and investigators say the victim ran more than 2 miles home.

Rodriguez is now charged with aggravated kidnapping. He has bonded out of jail and is due back in court in October.

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