Man arrested for rape attempt near Wawa in NE Philly ID'd

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A man has been arrested and charged after an attempted rape outside a Wawa in Northeast Philadelphia.

Felix Ramos, 44, of the 9500 block of James Street, was arrested shortly after the incident on Monday evening.

It happened around 6 p.m. Monday behind the Del-Air Shopping Center on the 9400 block of State Road.

Police say the woman was waiting for a ride outside Wawa when a man she didn't know approached and started talking to her.

"Asked for a cigarette and then grabbed her by her arm and walked her forcibly behind the businesses. There's a wooded area with some high weeds; there was a makeshift hut with blankets and jugs of water," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

Small says the man then touched the victim and began removing her clothes before she got away and called police.

Ramos was arrested two blocks away when an alert officer stopped a man matching the description.

Customers were stunned to learn of what happened near a place they visit so often.

"Makes me sick to my stomach to think something like that would happen in this neighborhood," Shevi Levins of Northeast Philadelphia said.

Ramos is charged with Attempted Rape, Unlawful Restraint, False Imprisonment, Aggravated Indecent Assault and related offenses.