"I'm a nervous wreck," victim Silas Holt said. "I don't know if I gotta see a nerve doctor, man. I don't know what's going on."
Holt is still jittery after a ride home turned into a nightmare.
"I see two people running towards my car and don't know what's really going on," Holt said.
The 54-year-old was at a stop light on Garner Station Boulevard Tuesday evening when he saw a security guard chasing a man, who police say had just shoplifted from the nearby Belk store.
That's when the suspect, 41-year-old Eric Griffin, jumped into Holt's car.
He believes the knife-wielding man was on drugs.
"Looked like it was a little more than some weed and some drinking to me, you know, he was just looking," Holt added. "He was just crazy. He was screaming acting like a lunatic."
Holt responded by screaming back at the suspect. "I was like, oooh, I was screaming at him, trying to keep him from like trying to hurt me. He just kept on saying, he said, 'Drive muthaf****, drive!' So I did. That's what I did."
During the estimated five minute drive at knifepoint, Holt said he thought about killing himself and Griffin.
"We both gonna die," Holt said. "Yeah, cause I was just gonna crash the car right straight in the woods or something."
But it never came to that. An intersection at Hammond and Rush was the turning point.
"As soon as we get to Rush Street, that's when he jumped out the car," Holt explained. "When he jumped out, he saved both of us because my mind was almost made up to, you know. You not just gonna kill me just like that."
Griffin hasn't been seen since. Police released a picture from a surveillance camera at the Belk store they say shows the man.
The experience has Holt praying and reading his Bible 24 hours later and anxious for police to make an arrest.
"I can't wait," Holt said. "They need to catch him. I can't wait til they catch this guy. I mean suppose he do this to somebody else."
Investigators issued warrants for Griffin Thursday. He is facing numerous charges including felony restraint, assault with a deadly weapon, communicating threats and larceny.
The Garner Police Department is offering a $250 reward for information that leads to his arrest.
Police say Griffin has previous arrests under the name William Perry.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Amy Miller at 919-772-8810.
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