Armed man abducted woman at Hardee’s, raped her, then took her car, NC cops say
A Georgia man has been sentenced to decades in prison for abducting a woman from a Hardee’s restaurant in western North Carolina and raping her at gunpoint, according to prosecutors.
The attack happened Feb. 10, 2022, near Hendersonville, and concluded with the woman being abandoned in a remote area as the predator drove away in her car, according to R. Andrew Murray, the District Attorney for Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania counties.
An arrest was made days later in Mississippi, after the woman was able to identify the suspect using Department of Motor Vehicles photos, officials said.
On Dec. 18, Aaron Marquez Boyd of Girard, Georgia, pleaded guilty to first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense, first degree kidnapping, and robbery with a dangerous weapon, Murray said in a news release.
Boyd, 36, was sentenced to 35 to 49 years in prison, officials said.
“According to the investigation report ... a 24-year-old female was traveling through Henderson County on I-26 when she exited the interstate to use the restroom at a Hardee’s restaurant,” prosecutors said.
“As she returned to her car, Aaron Marquez Boyd aggressively approached the female while displaying a gun and told her to get into her car, or he would shoot her. The defendant then got into her car and made her drive to a remote location where he sexually assaulted her. Afterward, the defendant told her to stay or he would shoot her, took her phone, and drove off in her vehicle.“
Boyd was implicated when a Ford Taurus abandoned at the Hardee’s was found to be registered in his name, officials said.
He was arrested Feb. 13, 2022, in Gulfport, Mississippi, “while in possession and operation of the victim’s vehicle,” prosecutors said.
Hendersonville is about a 105-mile drive west from uptown Charlotte.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Armed man abducted woman at Hardee’s, raped her, then took her car, NC cops say."