YPD searches for driver in connection to liquor store incident

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) - The Yuma Police Department (YPD) is searching for the driver in connection to an incident at a liquor store last month.

In a post to Facebook, YPD also released bodycam footage to address misinformation regarding what happened as videos were going around social media saying a man tried to kidnap a 16-year-old girl.

YPD said they received reports of an aggravated assault at Quality Liquor, located in the area of S. Fourth Avenue and W. 21st Street, near the Dairy Queen, on July 21, before 1:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, YPD said officers interviewed the teen and witnesses at the scene.

They told YPD that the teen attempted to purchase a vape at the store, but the clerk did not let her buy it.

The teen, according to YPD, then gave money to someone and asked him to buy the vape for her, but as he was leaving the store, the teen asked if he bought the vape for her, he told her he did not, prompting her to ask for her money back, but the man refused and began driving away.

However, the teen grabbed the driver's side window for a short moment before letting go and rolling onto the highway.

"For our community's peace of mind and to not be worrying that some guy is trying to abduct girls or teenagers or anything like that, we felt the need to get it out there and give them the full story," said Sgt. Lori Franklin with YPD. "Again, it's not the norm for something like this for us to do. When it comes to our community, we wanna make sure they know that this didn't happen."

During the investigation, YPD said store employees told them there was video, but they did not have access to the surveillance system as it could be only accessed by the store's owner.

After several unsuccessful attempts to obtain the footage, YPD said it was recovered on July 30.

YPD told News 11 they're trying to identify the driver and no charges have been filed.

"They are trying to locate the driver. I don’t have an update as far as where we’re at right now with it. I know that is something they are looking into between speaking with the store itself, looking at video from the store, witnesses again. They have a good description for everything so they’re working on it," Franklin said.