BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — The man charged with trying to kidnap a jogger in Bridgewater over the weekend previously pleaded not guilty in a 1978 rape case, according to court documents.
Gordon Lyons was arraigned in a hospital bed Tuesday afternoon because police say he was injured when he crashed his car after the attempted abduction Sunday.
A bed sheet covered his face as he was ordered held in the hospital for now.
Lyon entered a plea of not guilty, but was ordered held without bail in 1978 in a case out of Barnstable court.
Police say he crashed his car minutes after he attempted to abduct a 37-year-old woman who was out for a jog Sunday morning.
Bridgewater police say Lyons assaulted the woman Sunday morning and then tried to drag her into his car. When she fought him off, he drove away.
MORE: Police: Man assaulted female jogger in Bridgewater, tried to abduct her
Police say the victim identified Lyons through an RMV photo, and she also took a photo of his car after fighting him off. Investigators said they matched up that photo with the suspect's license plate, when he crashed his car about 7 miles away.
Neighbors say the suspect lives a quiet life in a rental home on Main Street with his family, only about a mile and a half from the scene of the attempted kidnapping.