Fresno woman escaped attacker by jumping out of moving car. Suspect faces trial
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- Shandon Travalis Lawson faces five felony counts including kidnapping and robbery.
- The victim testified Lawson pulled a knife, then grabbed a gun and ziptied her wrists.
- Judge Kimberly A. Gaab found enough evidence and set Lawson’s next hearing for July 8.
A Fremont man who was charged with two violent sexual assaults at Bay Area hotels in 2017 will stand trial in Fresno County for a similar attack.
Shandon Travalis Lawson, 36, is charged with five felony counts, including kidnapping, second-degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault with a firearm.
The alleged victim testified Tuesday at a preliminary hearing that she and Lawson talked with each other on Snapchat and agreed to meet on March 12 near a park in southeast Fresno.
When she arrived at about 9 p.m., she saw Lawson’s car and was going to sit in his passenger seat, but said it was too messy. She hopped in the back seat.
Under questioning by prosecutor Nicole Galstan, the woman described her and Lawson’s conversation as casual, although she did notice he seemed sad. He told her he was tired, she said.
That’s when his mood began to change, she testified.
“All of a sudden, he pulled a knife on me and put it to my neck,” she testified. “I am trying to wrestle with him, trying to fight him off, when he jumped on the middle console and sat on me.”
Galstan asked her what was going through her mind at that moment.
“I was scared, but not trying to show it,” she said.
Lawson then put down the knife and grabbed a gun from the center console, the woman testified. As he pointed it at her, he told her he was going to take her to meet some people, she said.
He zip-tied her wrists and pulled a pillowcase from his trunk to put over her head. She complained she was having trouble breathing, so he stopped the car and cut a hole in the pillowcase near her nose and mouth.
Through the hole, she was able to see they were in the Roosevelt High School neighborhood. She also saw a patrol car ahead of them and took the chance to try to escape.
“I got one of the zip ties off my wrist, and as he was turning, I unlocked the door and jumped out,” she said.
She rolled on the ground, scraping her knees. She was shaken but got up and ran toward several homes, where someone saw her and called 911.
Lawson was found and arrested. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Lawson’s attorney Eric Castellon questioned the alleged victim’s story, saying she met Lawson for the purpose of having sex with him for money. She angrily denied it, snapping back, “What does that have to do with anything?”
Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Gaab ruled there was enough evidence to put Lawson on trial for the felonies he is charged with.
His next court hearing will be July 8.
Lawson’s previous convictions stem from two 2017 assaults in Milpitas. Investigators said the first assault happened on Sept. 26, 2017, at a hotel. Lawson forced a 21-year-old victim to engage in sexual acts while threatening her with a knife.
The other incident happened on Oct. 2 at a different motel. Police said a 19-year-old woman reported a man wearing a green construction safety vest who brandished a knife and assaulted her.
Police said the woman managed to escape by jumping out of a second floor window and calling 9-1-1.
