Petaluma Man Kidnapped Woman, Threatened To Kill Her, Police Say

PETALUMA, CA — A Petaluma man remained behind bars Tuesday in lieu of $500,000 bail on allegations that he kidnapped a 25-year-old woman from downtown Petaluma, then threatened to kill her, a police lieutenant said.

"This appears to be a stranger type of abduction," Petaluma police Lt. Tim Lyons said of the series of events Friday, Nov. 9 that allegedly involved the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Gumerlindo Luis Ordonez.

The Petaluma Police Department was initially contacted at 10:21 p.m. by a caller who said her friend, who'd attended an event at Mystic Theater that evening and after consuming some alcohol, became lost and called her for help, Lyons said.

Officers responded to the 200 block of Petaluma Boulevard North and were searching the downtown area for the woman when her friend called back at 11:15 p.m. to say she'd located her sitting on a bench near Starbucks. The caller told police a man was sitting next to her friend on the bench and that she assumed he was trying to help her.

"The reporting party stated she walked the victim to a local business, where she had the victim sit in an office while she finished some work," Lyons said. "When she went to check on her in the office, she was gone. She said the victim had left her cellphone on a desk and thought that was unusual so she reviewed surveillance video from the business they were at and saw an unknown male take the victim from the office."

Then, at 12:09 a.m., police were called by a man who said he'd just picked up a distraught woman on D Street, near Red Hill Road, and was bringing her to the police department.

"The [caller] stated the victim said she was fleeing from a suspect who had her in the back of his vehicle and was threatening to kill her," Lyons said.

The caller also gave police a description of the suspect's vehicle, including its license plate number. Officers stopped the vehicle, a 1997 gold Toyota Camry, in downtown Petaluma and identified the driver as Ordonez.

Ordonez was arrested early Saturday, Nov. 10, and was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of making criminal threats but was released on bail later that day, Lyons said.

Petaluma police detectives continued investigating the incident, which included interviewing the victim and reviewing surveillance footage.

"The surveillance video shows Ordonez walking in the area of the office for several minutes before entering the business," Lyons said. "The suspect is seen exiting the business holding up the victim and walking out with her to a vehicle."

Detectives located and seized Ordonez's vehicle, then secured a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and burglary. They also served a search warrant at his Petaluma residence, and are processing all the evidence, Lyons said.

On Friday, Nov. 16, Ordonez was re-arrested at the police department.

"The original [caller] has identified Ordonez as the Hispanic male originally sitting on the bench with the victim near Starbucks," Lyons said. "The victim stated she did not know or had ever met Ordonez."

Police did not say whether the victim was injured in the alleged incident, nor was her name disclosed.

Ordonez was due in court Tuesday morning.

In the meantime, anyone else who may have witnessed the alleged incident or recognizes Ordonez from any similar incidents is asked to call Detective Ryan McGreevy at 707-778-4372.

Photo courtesy Petaluma Police Department