KIDNAPPING: Simpsonville man accused of stealing car with woman and 3-month-old inside

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Simpsonville man was charged with kidnapping after police said he stole a car with a woman and her 3-month-old still inside.

According to court documents, 34-year-old Derick Taylor was taken arrested by deputies with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office just before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The investigation began at the Waddy Post Office on Waddy Road, near Kings Highway. Deputies were called to the scene on a report of a woman who had been assaulted and a man who was going through other peoples' vehicles near the post office.

When they arrived, they spoke with one of the victims, a woman who said she'd been kidnapped out of Jefferson County. According to Capt. Blake Lisby of the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, the woman and her 3-month-old were waiting inside a vehicle outside the Petco at 1963 South Hurstbourne Parkway, near Taylorsville Road.

According to an arrest report, the woman's boyfriend had gone inside the Petco to fulfill a DoorDash order. Lisby said, at one point, the woman got into the back seat to comfort her child. That's when Taylor opened the driver-side door, got into the vehicle and drove off with the woman and her child inside.

According to Lisby, the woman was able to contact her boyfriend, who was still inside the Petco, and alert him that the car had been stolen and they had been kidnapped. Lisby said the boyfriend had a tracking device on the car and was able to track the car and call police.

Taylor then drove them toward Shelby County, according to court documents. Along the drive, the woman said Taylor forced her to remove her clothes while he fondled her. He also allegedly punched her in the face.

The vehicle broke down after they drove into Shelby County, according to police, and Taylor pulled into the back of Waddy Baptist Church.

"They tracked the car to Shelby County, and when they got to the Waddy area, that's when the car got disabled, and that's when the gentleman stopped behind the Waddy Baptist Church, and basically just got out, went to the post office and attempted to get into another vehicle, where he was scared away by a witness," Lisby said. "Then he fled into the that wooded area."

At that point, deputies on the scene used a K-9 to find Taylor hiding under an abandoned vehicle. He was then arrested and taken to UofL Hospital, "due to his heavy intoxication level," police said.

Deputies allegedly found small plastic bags containing methamphetamine and suspected marijuana.

The victim believed her car was no longer usable after the incident, due to damage to the transmission and a right mirror after Taylor hit a mailbox.

Lisby said the woman was understandably traumatized by the incident.

"She was very frantic, not only for it to happen to her but for her 3-month-old child to experience this and just the fear for her child's safety," he said. "I think was what was the worst part."

In Shelby County, Taylor is currently charged first-degree unlawful imprisonment, two counts of kidnapping, possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of marijuana, receipt of stolen property of more than $10,000, fourth-degree assault and first-degree criminal mischief.

Lisby said Taylor will likely face additional charges from the Louisville Metro Police Department, as portions of the alleged crimes took place in Jefferson County. However, he said it's still early in the investigation and it will take time to collect evidence.

"I've actually been speaking with them last night and this morning," Lisby said. "We are getting together here in the near future, and they are going to pick up the initial — him taking the car down there as well as any kind of sexual assault that may have occurred on the way to Shelby County."

It's not the first time Taylor has been in the news. In April 2021, police said he severely beat a man at a Shelby County apartment complex. Authorities said the victim suffered a fractured skull after Taylor hit him in the head several times with a metal rod, telling him, "It's time to die."

Lisby added that Taylor may be implicated in additional, unrelated crimes.

"We're working with LMPD — the 8th Division — and I think some other divisions where incidents occurred in Jefferson County regarding different stolen vehicles and several hit-and-run accidents that we believe this suspect might be involved in," he said. "We're just all working together to try to piece that puzzle together. I'm assuming, probably here in the near future, he will face additional felony charges in Jefferson County."

Lisby said he does not know why Taylor would have gone to the Waddy area.

He is currently being held in the Shelby County Detention Center.

For now, Lisby is cautioning the public to always keep vehicles locked, even if there are passengers inside.

"That would tremendously help because more than likely they [criminals] are just going around checking door handles, and if those vehicles are unlocked, that's the ones they're getting in," he said. "Even if your vehicle is occupied, this can still occur. And just do what you can to try to prevent that from happening."