After Chase & Standoff, Man Arrested For Alleged Kidnapping of Woman in Watsonville

Following a pursuit and standoff, Watsonville police on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of kidnapping a woman who has a domestic violence restraining order against him.

Rudy Corpus, 29, was arrested Tuesday when police spotted him in a stolen vehicle, police said.

The victim, a 29-year-old woman, told police that Corpus allegedly entered her vehicle while she was waiting for a red light on July 8. The woman said Corpus then allegedly took her to two places in Watsonville and held her against her will for five days.

She was injured, battered, emotionally abused and Corpus threatened her if she attempted to escape, police said.

On July 13, the woman entered a business on Freedom Boulevard and asked an employee to call police. When officers arrived, she was uncooperative and decided not to file a report out of fear, police said.

Last Thursday, the woman then went to Watsonville police and told them about the alleged crime after speaking with her family.

Investigators learned Corpus was the father of her two children, police said. Officers took down a description of the woman's vehicle, which was still in Corpus' possession, and eventually found it on Tuesday morning, according to police.

The stolen vehicle was parked on Riverside Drive. A short time later, Corpus was seen entering the vehicle and a California Highway Patrol officer attempted to pull him over, police said.

Corpus led authorities on a short pursuit that ended when he crashed into a curb at East Lake Avenue and Blackburn Street, according to police.

Corpus then fled on foot and was found hiding in a garage near the crash, police said. He came out of the garage after a brief standoff and was shocked with a Taser stun gun when he didn't comply with an officer's orders, police said.

Corpus was taken to Watsonville Community Hospital and later booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, assault, false imprisonment, and obstruction of an officer.

--Bay City News