'Hitchhiker' accused of attacking good Samaritan says he's the victim

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A man accused of attacking a good Samaritan who offered him a ride says police have everything wrong.

The suspect gave an exclusive interview to Channel 2’s Tony Thomas just moments before he was arrested.

He says he is the victim in this situation.

For weeks, Raul Arruevalle had been wanted for aggravated assault.

Just hours after we ran the story about the search for him, he called up our Spanish language partner station, Telemundo Atlanta, and wanted to talk before he turned himself in.

Authorities say he assaulted a woman who simply stopped to give him a ride from a QuickTrip gas station on Father’s Day.

Investigators say Arruevalle told the victim he was from out of town and wasn't familiar with the area.

“What happened was the other way around. They turned things around,” Arruevalle told Thomas.

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In an interview before he was arrested, Arruevalle said police had it all wrong. In Spanish, he said the woman offered him a ride in what she claimed was an Uber. There was already another man in the back seat.

“She told me that she was going to leave the boy first at home and then me. We passed some streets and then they took out a pistol. They took my phone and when I gave them $50, they told me to give them the wallet,” Arruevalle said.

Police don't believe anything Arruevalle said and insist that he lunged at the driver with a knife and then ran away when she screamed.

“She was trying to help somebody out in need and unfortunately ended in her being assaulted,” police told Channel 2’s Liz Artz last week.

Arruevalle now sits in jail waiting to make his case to a judge.

“The woman told the boy to get out of the car and take everything away. When she said that, I removed the door lock and jumped out of the car and ran out,” Arruevalle said.

Cox Media Group