third Suspect Arrested In Morgan Hill Handyman Kidnapping Case
MORGAN HILL (CBS SF) — A man was arrested Wednesday evening in connection with the kidnapping and assault of a handyman in unincorporated Santa Clara County more than two weeks ago, a Santa Clara County sheriff's sergeant said.
Richard Rodriguez Jr., 49, whose last known address was in Alameda, turned himself in to Alameda police on Wednesday around 5 p.m., Sgt. Jose Cardoza said.
Alameda police will take Rodriguez to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office within the next week, Cardoza said.
Rodriguez had an outstanding arrest warrant on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and a prison sentence for his alleged involvement in a Dec. 3 incident in which a handyman was forced to do home repair work against his will, Cardoza said.
Cardoza said Rodriguez helped two Morgan Hill residents, Jason DeJesus, 36, and Chanelle Troedson, 33, force the 50-year-old handyman to work on the Morgan Hill suspect's home in the 200 block of Caldwell Way.
On December 3, around 7 p.m., San Jose police received a report of a kidnapping and assault by the victim, who had managed to escape his captors at a San Jose gas station.
Police turned the investigation over to the sheriff's office because the kidnapping occurred outside police jurisdiction, Cardoza said.
The victim told officers that he initially performed handyman services for a relative of one of the suspects about two months ago, but was not paid in full for his work, which led to a dispute over the services provided, Cardoza said.
The victim said the suspects lured him to their apartment just before 11 a.m. to do repair work, the sergeant said.
Upon arriving at the residence, the victim was attacked, held against his will and threatened with his life for several hours, Cardoza said.
The victim was still inside the Caldwell Way apartment at 5:30 p.m. when the suspects forced him into a truck.
The victim was told he needed to complete repair work he began two months ago on the suspect's relative's home in Santa Clara.
On the way to the house, the suspects stopped at the Chevron gas station at the intersection of Santa Teresa Boulevard and Cottle Road in San Jose to purchase gas.
As the suspects exited the vehicle to purchase gas and groceries, the victim fled on foot, ignoring a warning from the suspects to stay put, Cardoza said.
The victim ran to a nearby residence to report the incident, he said.
San Jose police responded to the scene, located DeJesus and Troedson near the gas station and arrested them on suspicion of false imprisonment, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and conspiracy.
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