By Bill Kirk
bkirk@eagletribune.com
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BOSTON — A Lawrence woman made a frantic 911 call from a moving car on the Southeast Expressway to say she had been kidnapped by the father of her child and that he was "driving like a maniac" at speeds up to 120 mph Sunday night.
"I was scared of what was going to happen to me, and after I got disconnected you guys were right behind us, thank God," she told state police afterwards.
The woman, 34, said she and Kenneth Tozier Jr., 24, of 202 Oakland Ave., Methuen, had argued about their relationship after shopping for clothes for their child and that she'd had asked him to take her home to Lawrence several times, but he refused.
The child was not in the car at the time.
According to state police, a cellular 911 call from the woman came in to Massachusetts State Police General Headquarters at about 5:25 p.m. The woman stated that she had been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend.
Among other things, she stated that they had come from Lawrence, that the man wouldn't let her out of the car.
The call was transferred to the State Police barracks in South Boston, where Trooper Jim Gordon, the desk officer, obtained vital information from the emotional caller: that the vehicle she was in was a blue Audi that was traveling northbound in the Quincy area.
The line then went dead.
Gordon dispatched cruisers to be on the lookout for the vehicle, while Dispatcher Jack McDonough broadcast the limited information available over regional radio channels.
Simultaneously, Dispatcher Rick Teevens contacted the cell phone provider in an attempt to gather more information.
Meanwhile, Trooper Joseph Gray, having heard the description of the vehicle, was monitoring traffic northbound in Quincy when he observed a vehicle fitting the description.
Trooper Gray stopped the vehicle north of Columbia Road and determined it to be the wanted vehicle, a 2000 Audi S4.
The victim and suspect were separated and questioned by troopers.
Tozier, in his statement to the trooper, allegedly said he "lost it" during the argument.
Tozier was arraigned in South Boston District Court yesterday and freed on $750 bail after facing charges of kidnapping.
Assistant District Attorney Katherine Powell recommended that he be held on the $100,000 cash bail and be ordered to stay away from the victim and her child while the case is pending, according to a press release.
Judge Michael Bolden set bail at $750, but imposed the stay-away order, the release said. Tozier was represented by attorney Helene Tomlinson. He will return to court on March 9.
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