Wanted Kidnapper Spotted At Morongo Pool: Police

THOUSAND PALMS, CA — A Cathedral City resident who allegedly tried to kidnap a man at gunpoint was arrested Monday at a Thousand Palms motel — after police say a sighting of the man was first reported at a Pass Area casino, where authorities allegedly found a weapon used in the attempted kidnapping.

It all started about 2 a.m. on Oct. 25 when Enrique Jose Luis Fernandez, 23, allegedly tried to force a man to get into a car at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Circle K store on Ramon Road in Cathedral City, according to Cathedral City Police.

"On arrival officers searched the area for the suspect however they were unable to locate him," police said in a news release.

An arrest warrant declaration alleges that Fernandez pointed a semi- automatic .380 handgun at the victim's stomach and forced him to walk toward a vehicle, but the victim was able to get away and Fernandez fled in a car, possibly with a woman. Witness statements and surveillance footage from the Circle K were used to identify Fernandez as the suspect, the declaration states.

Prosecutors later filed charges of kidnapping, assault with a firearm and firearm possession against Fernandez and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

One day after the warrant was issued, Fernandez was spotted near the swimming pool outside the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon and casino security alerted sheriff's deputies of Fernandez's presence, but he was gone by the time they arrived, according to the sheriff's department.

Fernandez was ultimately taken into custody at 1 a.m. Monday at the Motel 6 on Varner Road where sheriff's officials were for a separate case, police said. He was being held at the Riverside County jail in Indio on $1 million bail pending his initial court appearance on Wednesday, according to county jail records.

Later that same morning, police say they found a gun that was used by the would-be kidnapper.

"CCPD Detectives followed up on a lead on the case at Casino Morongo where they located a small caliber handgun used in the kidnapping," police said.

— City News Service contributed to this report / Image via Cathedral City Police Department