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Amy Robach
This is an iHeart podcast.
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TJ Holmes
Hey there folks. The crime and the rescue read like a Hollywood movie script. But this is the thing I took away from it. Make sure you know where your kids are at all times no matter if it's Life 360 or Snapchat with that. Welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ presents Rope. This is a fascinating story that had a, that had a really happy and almost Hollywood ending. And you got a hero as a gas station attendant. But parents need to listen to this one.
Amy Robach
This is a story that every parent needs to hear. And today there was an update. We are recording this on April 30th. The man who has been charged with the rape and kidnapping of a 16 year old girl who was waiting for her school bus at the school bus stop, who was taken at gunpoint. This man was in court today where a judge denied him bond and said that he was the ultimate risk to the community. This man we are talking about is 48 year old Donald Trump, James Joseph Arthur Fields and thank God for a gas station attendant and Snapchat.
TJ Holmes
So Robes, we're going to walk folks through this particular crime and as horrible as it sound, we talk about a teenage girl kidnapped. Yes, she was sexually assaulted. Trust us folks, it does have a happy ending here. This is a horrific story when you hear initially those details. But Robes, this is, this is a, of all the horrible stuff going on out there and there was a horrible individual at least involved in this one. Rob, it's such a reminder there are good people out there.
Amy Robach
There are heroes. There are heroes out there, heroes out there. And the hero of this story was a Yemeni immigrant working the register at a Detroit Sunoco gas station. You know, we have had a lot of stories about immigrants from different parts of the world being demonized. This is a story where I am so, and we are so happy to discuss somebody who could barely speak English. And he says this English is tough for him. But you know what he knows what word he heard or what word he saw mouthed. This 16 year old girl who was standing before him with a kidnapper behind her mouthed the word help to him
TJ Holmes
and he could understand that.
Bowen Yang
And he understood he only needed to
TJ Holmes
know one English word, ropes, to say quite possibly save this girl's life. So let's go back. Ropes Was it Detroit proper? Just outside of Detroit.
Amy Robach
Outside of Detroit.
TJ Holmes
Okay. And the date this wasn't this in
Amy Robach
April 13th is when the crime happens.
TJ Holmes
Okay. And when we say crime you go back robe. This is a parents horror.
Amy Robach
Yes.
TJ Holmes
Story. This is the worst case scenario. Your child disappears.
Amy Robach
Yes. She is waiting and we don't have her name because she is a sexual assault victim. She's 16 years old but she was waiting for her school bus. She even had a friend who was there at the school bus stop waiting with her. She thankfully was able to report to police what she witnessed. But she saw this man and I'll just say his last name again because again Donald James Joseph Arthur Fields. But he saw. She saw Fields who forcing her friend at gunpoint into his van. It happened very quickly and they drove away. She immediately called 911 but she was only able to give a little like a, a, a a basic description. So that is when police were eventually called to the scene to try and figure out where she might have been. In the meantime, this horrific man, according to prosecutors and police raped and assaulted this young girl in his van. Then he drives to a gas station. So he's help me there. Yes.
TJ Holmes
What's the time frame? How long has he been with the girl at this point?
Amy Robach
I don't know. The tick tock tick tock. But it's all within an hour.
TJ Holmes
Oh yes. Okay. That's the thing. I didn't know. This is over a large afternoon, several hours very quickly.
Amy Robach
So. So now police are tracking this 16 year old with her friends phones through the Snapchat app.
TJ Holmes
This is amazing to me.
Amy Robach
So now police are able to see where this 16 year old girl is because her friends have her location.
TJ Holmes
Okay, let's stop there. Robes. Every parent listening right now. We all think it's weird, don't we? Your girls, my Sabine, like why are you. They won't let. They all want their parents to track them. But their friends know exactly where they were or they are all the time.
Amy Robach
I've had this conversation with you. My kids were a little bit older when I even was aware of an ability to track them. And they got to a point and they are adults now and they're like mom, we don't want you tracking us. I honor that. But I honor that because I know that at least 10 of their friends track them.
TJ Holmes
You say that all the time.
Amy Robach
So I know if anything were to happen, I know who to call, I know who to ask. Where is my daughter? And they will be able to tell me exactly at least where her phone is. So that is certainly helpful to at least know that I've got that going for me in the sense that I know where she is because her friends know where she is. And that is exactly what police were able to do. They were able to get onto Snapchat on her friends phone apps and they were able to find where they were. So now police are heading to this Sunoco gas station just outside of Detroit. At the same time this man who is now being charged. And we'll get into all of this actually, for whatever reason forced this teen to pay for his cigarettes. Thank God he did this. So she is up at this cash register trying to pay for her attacker's cigarettes and she mouthed the word and help to the gas station attendant.
TJ Holmes
This is a movie shit. We've seen this scenario in movies before at, at a gas station and it happened. I give her credit. I give him credit, her being smart enough to do that.
Amy Robach
Good God, that's scary. But she, she went for it. And so what happened was this, this Yemeni immigrant who could barely speak English, knew what help meant.
Redfin Sponsor Voice
He.
Amy Robach
And I have to give him. I get chills thinking about this because this look, he didn't know what he was dealing with. He came out from behind the protective glass, stepped in between Fields and the teen and he said, I kicked him. I said get out. And I told the girl, get behind me. And as he was doing that, Fields then ran. He chickened out, he ran to his van and guess what? This gas station attendant was chasing him. I have chill look. Can you see the chills on me chasing him to go make sure he doesn't get away? As police were arriving to the scene because of the Snapchat app. You can't make that up.
TJ Holmes
I don't even know where to start with this. First start with him first. Start with her. Robes, she took an opportunity. When she saw it, she knew she was in danger, she knew she was in trouble and she took the opportunity. Good for her, right? She didn't call the scene, she didn't fight him. She waited till she had help and she got help. Give her credit for that. Give him credit. I don't know this guy at all. But Robes, he sounds like a guy who is family oriented. Yeah, he sounds like a guy who's got plenty of family and aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews and kids around and it just instinct for him to do that. Robes, you got a 16 year old kid that needs help. There are some that just. There are some robes that is. I don't know how old he is. Do you have any idea how many kids he has?
Amy Robach
I know his name and I actually, I've avoided saying it because it's really hard to pronounce, but. No, but I'm going to try it. Abdul Rahman Abu Hatam. And he is being hailed a hero.
TJ Holmes
He is a hero. Yes.
Amy Robach
And he said, I struggle with English, but I knew what help meant. He was awarded a night medal from the school where the teen attends for his quick thinking. And he has been lauded. I mean the local paper, the local television stations, they have all told him he's a hero. He's been given awards, he has been given his due. But he rightfully so that is a scary thing to do.
TJ Holmes
Also, I was armed. He didn't know if the guy had a knife.
Amy Robach
He had taken the girl at gunpoint. So he absolutely took. Yes, took his own life. And look, you imagine like if you're a gas station attendant, you know, I always think it's a little unnerving when you go to pay for gas or you go into the convenience store, you see when you're walking out of the door, the measuring stick, you see, it shows you 6ft 5ft, 6ft 7. You know that that is a, for a suspect. So if a gas station attendant gets robbed or there's anything that happens, they actually, it happens so often that most gas stations actually have a height marker when you're walking out the door so that they can see and describe to police the suspects that come into their stations. That's how often these guys are under threat.
TJ Holmes
Wrote they do their job behind protective glass.
Amy Robach
That's a very good point. That's all you need to know. But it's just like I, my heart warmed when I read this story about this man doing this for a complete stranger. But he saw a 16 year old girl in need.
TJ Holmes
I can't imagine how much he's seen that he chose not to get involved with. There's plenty of stuff he knows and look, no offense, love y', all, Detroit, but a Detroit gas station, Okay. I mean outside of Detroit, he's seen some stuff is what I'm saying. I am sure he's seen some stuff. He chose this. And I am fascinated by this guy. But it's instinct. There are certain. There are plenty of parents out there, dads with daughters that will hear this and applaud him. But it's almost bro. It just is what you do. There's an instinct. There are just some things you do. You can't Help it if I know this guy's got a big family.
Amy Robach
I just, you know, he does right to hear more.
TJ Holmes
I just know he does.
Amy Robach
You. I didn't even think about that. But you make such a good point. And it does. It's so interesting because look, you have Sabine now and so many people listening to this have young daughters maybe driving for the first time, but certainly waiting for a school bus. And in Sabine's case, I think she took the subway for the first time with a friend, you know, starting to go out and venture out and do we trust the people around her? Absolutely not. And you want to hope that they're equipped with street sense and they know what to do and their friends know what to do. So you have to also credit her friend for immediately calling 911 for pulling up her Snapchat app and saying, this is where my friend is. I can see her location right now. This is when technology is our friend. This is when technology, we talk a lot about all the negative impacts and all the things that it's doing to society. But in this moment, in these types of scary situations, technology is life saving.
TJ Holmes
Rose. Okay, I Snapchat drives me crazy. TikTok drives me crazy because I see my child sitting and scrolling and doing this whole thing. Robes, this is one. There, there is beauty in it and I appreciate it. And this is, this is one of those uses of Snapchat and social media that doesn't I think get enough attention. It's true and highlighted is that there is a protection there. And as a parent as your kid maybe wants to distance himself or herself from you with these things. They got 20 people who know exactly where they are all the time. It's, it's, it's. Oh, Robes, this is, I love this story. I hate Snapchat a lot of days because of Sabine. But this is one where I'm like, baby, go ahead, do your thing. Let your friends follow you. I love this.
Amy Robach
I agree. Even though my daughters won't let me follow them, I am grateful that they have allowed some of their friends to follow them. Because if worst case scenario happened in a situation like this, to know where they are is literally the difference between life and death. When we come back, we're going to tell you about this 48 year old suspect who is a third time sexual assault offender. And to think that this all happened around 7am in the morning. Parents, this is absolutely a wake up call.
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Bowen Yang
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TJ Holmes
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Amy Robach
Welcome back everybody to Amy and TJ presents. Oftentimes when we talk about crimes and we talk about cases, they don't have happy endings. Yes, this 16 year old we've been talking about was sexually assaulted. That is horrific. But she is alive. She is here to tell her story. And it is because of the bravery of a gas station clerk and the technology that led police straight to where she was after she had been abducted. I mean, this abducting hap abduction happened 7am on Monday on April 13th. Imagine how many people have their kids 7am on a Monday. 16 years old, waiting to get on her school bus just outside of Detroit. I don't know that you are necessarily concerned. Other kids are at the school bus stop. You can't imagine. But there is actually surveillance video. So in terms of the case that's building against this repeat offender, they have. Police have surveillance video showing the moment that he approached her and put a handgun to her back and forced her into a van. I mean that is brazen. In front of another student. And again, surveillance footage. They had cameras in the area showing the entire thing happening. But thank God her cell phone was being tracked from almost the get go. Actually from the beginning because her friend pulled up Snapchat and boom. She knew exactly where her friend was.
TJ Holmes
Do criminals not know this now she has a phone on her. Every teenager has a phone on them. Every teenager is, I would argue robed being tracked. Not just you. We have to call Apple and they can track down. Do it. No, not that you can instantly. There is every teenager, I would argue robes right now can instantly be tracked by somebody in their circle.
Amy Robach
Yes, and I think it's. We've talked before. You're like, isn't it creepy that your friends know exactly where you are? Like my friends, my. I've seen my girls pull up their apps. They can see, oh look, my friend is just around the corner or my friend's in Finland, whatever. But I. It does seem creepy. But my God, it is useful in moments like this. And look, this was a bad dude. This is so rare. We always talk about random acts of violence. Hardly ever happen. But when they do and if they happen to you, it's devastating. And this man had done this before. He. So by the way, he is being charged with kidnapping, two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, felonious assault, three counts of felony firearm and a felon in possession of a firearm. He's being charged as a third time habitual offender. As we mentioned, he has done this before, but today his bond was continued. No way this guy is getting out. And the judge made a very specific point to say you are the ultimate risk to the community. You are not getting out of jail before your trial. So a preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 13. But it does seem like there is DNA evidence in this case. There is surveillance video, there is the gas station clerk attendant, there is the 16 year old victim and there is the friend who was there at the bus stop when this happened. There are images of his face. I gotta say, comparing it with the person who's in court. They got their guy. And so this is going to be. And look, we gotta hope that the justice system prevails here where somebody who has committed a heinous sexual assault for the third time. I don't understand why he would ever be allowed out of prison after this event. Because everything had to go right for him to get caught.
TJ Holmes
Rose. I don't understand how he possibly thought he would get away from broad daylight at a bus stop, snatching a kid and then going to a gas station where you know there are cameras with that kid and go. I don't.
Amy Robach
He needs cigarettes that bad, he can't afford them so he makes her go pay for them and that's why he pulled her out. Think about that. If he hadn't stopped at that gas station, obviously they knew their her location. So he was most likely going to be found. Unless somehow he knew to throw her her phone out the window or something
TJ Holmes
like that, that he was being tracked.
Amy Robach
He didn't know. And the thing that she still had her, or at least he had her phone, he didn't think her phone was being tracked. He didn't know. Thank God for dumb criminals. Thank God he needed a cigarette that badly and he didn't have any money to pay for it, that he needed to bring her into the gas station to pay for it. You know, thank God he was dumb and thank God he was desperate.
TJ Holmes
I don't know who knows what those motivations are. It's just robes. It's good to take an opportunity and take lessons from this. It's awful what's happened to this young Lady. But what a lesson to be learned that she has taught us, that the gas station attendant has taught us and that Snapchat has taught us as parents. Right. We're afraid of it. We're, yeah. There's positives to these things and they, yes. Can literally save lives. And this has happened and I, I continue to, I will publicly give Sunny Hostin from the View credit for this. I've told you this. She introduced me to life. 360 and robes. How many? We hear it several times a day. My alert on my phone.
Amy Robach
Beans on the move because we know
TJ Holmes
exactly where Sabine is all the time and it's necessary and it's important and it serves us well. And it's just robe. This is why. This is one I applaud and I will support and I'm okay. And this is just one of when technology can do this. I love it and I appreciate it and I, I think every parent needs to pay attention to this thing. And you know what? Even robes, if your kids don't want you to follow them, you should know all of their friends.
Amy Robach
Yes, exactly.
TJ Holmes
Ever an incident because their friends know where they are.
Amy Robach
This is great. That's what I do. Yes. I, I know it via friends and I guess that'll be good enough for me right now. But we always appreciate you listening to us. Thank you for this. For listening to this episode of Amy and TJ Presents. We'll follow the story, we'll make sure this guy and certainly this young lady sees justice through to the very end. But we'll keep up on this story as we always like to do. We always appreciate you listening to us. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Bowen Yang
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Amy Robach
This is an iheart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Date: May 1, 2026
Hosts: Amy Robach, T.J. Holmes
Producer: iHeartPodcasts
This gripping episode tells the harrowing and ultimately heroic story of a 16-year-old girl abducted at gunpoint while waiting for her school bus outside Detroit. Amy and T.J. share the details of her ordeal—how she was saved by the quick thinking of an immigrant gas station clerk and the life-saving role technology (specifically Snapchat) played. The episode acts both as an urgent wake-up call for parents about everyday safety and as an inspiring reminder of courage and community.
This episode is a powerful listen for parents, teens, and anyone interested in technology’s role in modern safety—and a testament to the heroism that can arise in the most unexpected moments.