Riverside Man Convicted of Kidnapping His Ex-Girlfriend

Staff Writer

Thursday, December 8th, 2016

RANCHO CUCAMONGA– A 24-year-old Riverside man was convicted for the June 2015 kidnapping of his ex-girlfriend after going to her Ontario home to retrieve his personal property. While at the home, the victim’s father allowed Christopher Para Martinez into the garage alone. The father said that the defendant put a gun to his throat and threatened to kill him. Martinez fled the scene prior to officer arrival.

Later the same day, Martinez called the victim and asked her to meet him at a nearby gas station. When she arrived, he asked her to get into his vehicle to talk. San Bernardino County District Attorney officials said that once she got inside the car, he told her, “We’re going for a ride.” She asked for him to stop so she could get out of the vehicle, but Martinez continued on driving approximately 20 miles to a wooded area in Lytle Creek. He forced her from the car at gunpoint. “He marched her into a more secluded area away from the roadway and put the gun approximately a foot from her face and asked her who was going to die, her or her father?” said Crane.

He turned the gun away from her and attempted to fire, but the gun misfired. Both Martinez and the victim got back into the vehicle, drove to the gas station, and switched into the victim’s car. “Meanwhile, the defendant was calling his ex-girlfriend’s father, telling him he would never see his daughter again if he didn’t go to the police department and drop the charges from the earlier incident in the garage,” said Crane.

The father called the police, in fear for his daughter. He told them that his daughter was being held captive. Multiple agencies responded and tracked down the two, safely removing the victim from the vehicle. Martinez was arrested without further incident. On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, Martinez was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of Criminal Threats, one felony count of Kidnapping, one felony count of Assault with a Firearm, and one felony count of Dissuading a Witness, with jurors finding true that the defendant personally used a firearm during the commission of the crime.

Martinez is scheduled to return to the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Court on January 13. 2016, for sentencing.

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