An Alabama teen hero saves a woman’s life

LAMAR COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) – A Lamar County man is accused of abducting a woman, stabbing her, and leading law enforcement on a two state chase.

Right now, Marshall Lee Gray, 33, is being held on a probation violation until formal charges are filed.

Lamar County Sheriff Hal Allred says the incident started in Marion County, where the 59-year-old victim was taken.

She was put inside a stolen car and Gray headed south into Lamar County. When they encountered slow traffic, near Sulligent, the woman jumped out of the vehicle.

Allred says Gray got out of the vehicle and started attacking the woman and bystanders stopped to help.

Investigators say Gray ended up across the state line in Monroe County, where he allegedly tried to break into a house.

Allred says Gray then drove back to the Sulligent area.

Law enforcement were able to block in his car, keeping Gray from escaping, near the railroad tracks in Sulligent.

He was arrested there.

Charges are pending in Monroe County, Mississippi as well as Lamar and Marion Counties in Alabama.

One of the Good Samaritans is a 17-year-old, soon-to-be Sulligent High School senior.

He was headed home Wednesday afternoon, around 4, when he stopped to help.

CJ McLemore spent most of Thursday, having his truck cleaned, but he did relive the scary moments with WCBI and is thankful he was in the right place at the right time.

“She’s waving, which I thought she was telling cars to come on by. Well, I pull up, probably a car length behind her and she gets out of the vehicle and she’s holding her arm and she’s screaming and yelling, saying, ‘He’s trying to kill me. He stabbed me.’ ”

That’s when the 59-year-old woman jumped in CJ McLemore’s truck.

“At that point and time, he (Gray) gets out of his car, the car, and approaches me with the knife, so she finally gets around my truck, you can see the blood stains and she opens up my passenger seat and she gets in. Well, she says, ‘He’s trying to kill me! We need to go!'”

McLemore says Marshall Gray claimed there had been in an accident in the car.

That’s when another bystander spotted Gray’s knife and pulled a gun.

That’s when Gray drove away.

“I thank God. I thank the dude behind me, I think he saved my life too for having that gun there, and I’m just glad that I got to help and that she made it.”

The victim told McLemore she was from San Francisco, and was visiting family in Hamilton, Alabama, when she was held at knife point.

“I didn’t really have time to be scared. I just did, you know, what was, I thought was at that moment, I thought was right.”

Here’s some background about Marshall Gray.

Sheriff Allred says Gray was released from prison last Saturday.

Two years ago, he pleaded guilty to rape in the first degree and was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years probation.

However, in the plea deal Gray received a split sentence.

Meaning, he only had to serve 38 months of that 20 year sentence.

All other counts in his indictment were dismissed.

Allred says this current case is frustrating, because he believes Gray should have had to serve all 20 years, considering Gray’s past.