Officials said a witness called police around 1:30 p.m. after seeing the woman in the front passenger seat of a black 2005 Ford Taurus at the Mobil Gas Station on Glen Cove Road in Roslyn Heights.
She was holding a sign that read "Please call 911, CALL 911."
Police said 36-year-old William Jamal Wilkinson, of Ridge, forced her and her three boys, two three-year-old twins with autism and a 13-year-old, into his car and refused to let them out. Police arrested him at the scene without incident.
Officials have not confirmed the circumstances leading up to the victims' imprisonment, but according to the police report, the adult victim was Wilkinson's girlfriend.
Wilkinson faces several charges, including unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, endangering the welfare of an incompetent physically disabled person, and criminal possession of marijuana.
Wilkinson was arraigned Wednesday and is being held on $50,000.
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