CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police have arrested a man they say sexually assaulted a woman in a south Charlotte park.

Authorities say Kelvin Jones, 41, approached the woman around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday as she was sitting on a bench alone reading a book in a relatively secluded part of Park Road Park. They say he forced the woman behind a building, where he sexually assaulted her and robbed her at knifepoint.

Jones then attempted to take the woman to a second location, police said. The woman broke free, screamed and ran, attracting the attention of two men in the park. Police said they followed the man while they called 911, and they didn’t allow the 6-foot-2-inch tall, 260-pound suspect back until his vehicle as they waited for officers to arrive.

“When he was caught, he was about 50 yards from his vehicle. If he would have got into his car, we would have never known who he was,” said Sgt. Darrell Price of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The park was closed for about two hours while investigators collected evidence.

Jones faces kidnapping, robbery and sexual battery charges. Police said he has an arrest record that includes two murder charges out of Florida. He also served 16 years in prison for a drug charge conviction.

Eyewitness News spoke to several people in Kelvin Jones' neighborhood.

He lives in the Fern Hill subdivision off of Archdale Road in South Charlotte.

Neighbors said police have been to the home several times. Despite that, some people were totally shocked about the news of what happened Wednesday, and about Jones' criminal record.

"Are you for real?", responded neighbor Rosa Gromando.

One woman said she saw it coming.

"He's been a problem in our neighborhood, on our block for quite some time," said neighbor Tasha White.

Neighbors said Jones lives at the home with a woman and her daughter.

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