Hamilton County, TN - On January 15, 2022 at approximately 10:50 pm, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division was notified of a possible rape/kidnapping in progress occurring in the East Brainerd area of Chattanooga.

Bradley County, Tennessee 911 had received a call forwarded from a 911 center in Georgia. The caller reported his girlfriend, an Uber driver, had been kidnapped and was being raped by her Uber customer.

The Hamilton County 911 center was able to narrow down the victim’s location to the East Brainerd area. Multiple law enforcement personnel from the Chattanooga Police Department, Collegedale Police Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office collectively responded to saturate the area in an attempt to locate the victim. After approximately an hour of searching, the victim was able to make a call to Hamilton County 911, who in turn was able to pinpoint the victim’s location to the 8800 block of Pebble Creek Road.

Law enforcement personnel made contact with the victim who was being assaulted by the Uber customer. Zachery Richard Johnson (Age 36), who was the Uber customer, was immediately arrested. Johnson was transported to the Silverdale Detention Center and booked on the following charges:

• Aggravated Rape (Class A Felony)

• Aggravated Kidnapping (Class B Felony)

• Aggravated Assault (Class C Felony)

• Aggravated Sexual Battery (Class B Felony)

• Carjacking (Class B Felony)

In addition to the law enforcement agencies above, the HCSO would like to also thank the personnel with Hamilton County 911, McMinn County 911, and Bradley County 911 for their efforts to help locate the victim.

Anyone with information concerning this investigation is asked to contact the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office at (423) 622-0022.

As this is an ongoing investigation, no further details are available.