A South Hill teenager was charged Monday for allegedly trying to kidnap and rape a 38-year-old woman who delivered food to his home. Charges say the boy tried to pull her into his home when she went to pick up a $20 tip.
Elijah Oliver-Jelani Eubanks, 17, faced charges of first-degree attempted rape and first-degree attempted kidnapping at arraignment Monday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court. According to charging documents, the attempted sexual assault occurred Saturday afternoon when a delivery driver for Uber brought groceries to his home off of 136th Street East.
The News Tribune typically does not name juveniles charged with a crime. It is doing so in this case because the defendant has been charged as an adult.
A plea of not guilty was entered on Eubanks behalf at arraignment. Judge Grant Blinn set bail at $150,000 and ordered there to be no contact between the defendant and the victim. Eubanks does not appear to have any prior criminal history, court records show.
In a letter to the court, the woman who was grabbed asked that Eubanks receive either a high bail or none at all, telling the judge she was concerned he might try to find her or use a delivery service to assault someone again if he were released.
A doorbell camera was on the front of Eubanks residence, according to the declaration for determination of probable cause. Pierce County Sheriff's Department detectives were granted a search warrant for any video from it.
Prosecutors wrote in charging papers that the woman delivered the food at about 2 p.m. and left it at the front door. When she began to walk back to her car, she reportedly heard a male voice say "don't forget your tip."
The woman turned around and saw a $20 bill on the porch, records state. She bent over to pick it up, and Eubanks allegedly grabbed her by the back of the shirt and started to pull her into the house. She screamed and flailed, eventually breaking free before she ran back to her car.
As she drove away, the woman allegedly saw Eubanks masturbating on the porch and grinning at her. The woman later told Sheriff's Department deputies the teenager wasn't wearing any pants or underwear when he first came to the door.
Deputies responded at about 2:24 p.m. to a nearby post office and contacted the woman, whose voice was reportedly shaky as she described the person who grabbed her. Law enforcement went to the address she'd delivered to and Eubanks, who matched her description, answered the door. He was taken into custody.
The woman was driven back to the scene, and when Eubanks came into view, she became "extremely hysterical" and pleaded to get out of there, records state. She allegedly told investigators, "That's him."
