Woman jumps from moving car to escape kidnapping attempt in Fresno County

A Fresno County courtroom heard how a woman escaped by jumping from a moving car after prosecutors say she was kidnapped in southeast Fresno. The case centers on Shandon Travalis Lawson, a 36-year-old Fremont man who faces five felony counts, including kidnapping, second-degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a firearm.

The alleged victim testified that she connected with Lawson on Snapchat and agreed to meet him on March 12 near a park in the Willow and Cesar Chavez area. Once they were together, she said Lawson bound her wrists with zip ties and kept control of the encounter as it turned dangerous. She later said she worked one zip tie loose, waited until Lawson turned, unlocked the car door and jumped from the vehicle while it was still moving. The escape left her with minor injuries.

Police searched for the suspect after the woman got away, and the details of the encounter put a spotlight on how fast a social-media meeting can turn violent when someone is isolated in a car. In Fresno County, prosecutors also used the hearing to lay out the legal next step in the case. A preliminary hearing is not a trial; it is the stage where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to send a defendant forward to trial.

Lawson’s Fresno case also revived attention on older allegations from the Bay Area. In 2017, Milpitas police said he was linked to two violent sexual assaults at hotels, one at the Baymont Inn and Suites on South Main Street in Milpitas and another at the Brookside Inn on Valley Way. One victim told police she was forced to perform sexual acts while a suspect wielded a knife and tied her up. Another escaped by jumping from a second-floor window and calling 911.

Milpitas police later said Lawson was found in the hotel parking lot shortly after the second assault. A 2017 report said his bail was set at $1,605,000. The Fresno case now puts the survivor’s escape, and the earlier pattern of allegations tied to Lawson, squarely before the court as it weighs whether the evidence is strong enough to keep the case moving toward trial.