AUSTIN, Texas — A woman arrested for allegedly wielding a hatchet and threatening a North Austin convenience store employee in May also stands accused of trying to kidnap a 5-year-old girl in the same area in April.
According to an affidavit obtained by KVUE, on April 16, Austin police officers responded to the intersection of the North Interstate 35 service road and East Rundberg Lane after someone in the area said a person was grabbing and shaking children. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a woman who matched the description provided by the witness trying to flee the scene.
The woman initially evaded police but was eventually detained and identified as 43-year-old Penny Vega.
Investigators on the scene learned that three children were involved: a 5-year-old girl, her 11-year-old brother and another 12-year-old boy. The witness who contacted police told officers that they heard the children screaming and saw Vega grabbing the girl and holding her on the ground as her brother tried to fight Vega off and the 12-year-old boy ran for help.
The witness also said he saw Vega grab the girl in the crosswalk and drag her by the top strap of her backpack. The witness said he heard the children yelling for help and heard the girl's brother yell, "She [Vega] is killing her [the 5-year-old]." The brother was also hitting Vega as she allegedly dragged the 5-year-old.
The witness said he ran from the nearby Shell gas station into the crosswalk and shouted at Vega to leave, at which point she let go of the girl and walked down Rundberg, where officers found her.
Another witness driving in the area described a similar scene and said she "thought the suspect was trying to abduct the female child and at one point, it looked like she was trying to throw the female child into the street," according to the affidavit.
Police said surveillance footage from the nearby Shell station corroborated both witnesses' statements.
RELATED: Another arrest made connected to man beaten, shot during kidnapping in eastern Travis County
The little girl was taken to a hospital and the affidavit states that she had a "small abrasion" on her chest. The day after the incident, April 17, the two siblings were interviewed by police. The 5-year-old girl told investigators that a "lady wanted to steal me." The girl also said the lady told her she was her new mom and that she was the woman's daughter. The girl's brother also told police that "a woman tried to steal his little sister."
On May 7, the 12-year-old boy was also interviewed and gave similar statements to police. Police attempted to talk to Vega, but her attorney declined an interview.
A short time after the alleged attempted kidnapping, a separate affidavit obtained by KVUE shows that police responded to another call at the same intersection in North Austin at around 1:40 a.m. on May 13. A suspect later identified as Vega was allegedly hitting passing vehicles with a hatchet and threatening a 7-Eleven employee.
Vega was arrested at the scene and booked into the Travis County Jail that same morning.
According to jail records, Vega has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony; evading arrest detention, a Class A misdemeanor; application to revoke probation, an undetermined felony; and attempted kidnapping, a state jail felony.
She remains booked in the Travis County Jail on a cumulative $32,500 bond.