A 42-year-old man was arrested Sunday following a kidnapping and assault incident that played out across several Orange County cities, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
Police were first alerted to the case at around 4:09 a.m., when they responded to the area of South Acacia Avenue and Dawns Way in Fullerton after receiving a 911 call from a woman reporting that a man she knew was attacking her and another man she was with, according to police.
During the call, dispatchers heard sounds of a struggle before the line disconnected, the department said.
Officers arrived within minutes and met a man at the location who said he had been assaulted by another man, later identified by police as Charles Hernandez. Police said Hernandez then forcibly took the woman into his vehicle and fled.
met a man at the location who said he was assaulted by a suspect — later identified by police as Charles Hernandez — who then forced the woman …
met a man at the location who said he was assaulted by a suspect — later identified by police as Charles Hernandez — who then forced the woman …
“met a man at the location who said he was assaulted by a suspect — later identified by police as Charles Hernandez — who then forced the woman …
“met a man at the location who said he was assaulted by a suspect — later identified by police as Charles Hernandez — who then forced the woman …
Investigators said the incident began earlier in Anaheim, where the man and woman were sitting in a parked vehicle when Hernandez approached and began hitting the car. The woman asked the man in the car to drive away and head toward the police department.
As they drove, Hernandez followed and intentionally struck their vehicle, police said. The driver turned onto a residential cul-de-sac, where Hernandez rammed the vehicle again, police said.
The two men then got out their cars, and Hernandez demanded the other man’s wallet and threatened to kill him with a firearm, according to authorities. The other man armed himself with a hammer in self-defense, police said.
Police said Hernandez then swung a metal sign at the driver before turning to the woman, taking her phone and forcing her into his vehicle. About an hour later, an officer located Hernandez’s car on the 57 Freeway near Ball Road in Anaheim. Police said he fled on foot across the freeway lanes, prompting a temporary closure while officers searched the area.
The woman was located safe inside the car. She and the man she was initially with were treated and released, said Kristy Wells, public information officer for the Fullerton Police Department.
Detectives later located Hernandez, who was arrested at approximately 5:30 p.m. in Newport Beach.
Hernandez was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, felony vandalism and domestic violence.
The investigation remains ongoing and no further information was immediately available.
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