Kidnapping and other felony charges were filed Tuesday against a two-strike felon accused of abducting a former girlfriend at gunpoint in Palm Springs while out on bail on separate spousal allegations involving the same victim.
Manuel Tamayo Valadez, 33, of Palm Springs was arrested Thursday after being on the run for more than a day, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.
Valadez is accused of forcing the woman into a car the day before. He allegedly drove her around the Coachella Valley and at one point “fired one round from the weapon while threatening the victim” before she was able to escape in Palm Desert, police said.
Along with kidnapping, Valadez is charged with one count of making criminal threats and two counts of spousal abuse, all felonies, as well as two misdemeanor charges of wilfully violating a protective order.
Valadez also faces five sentence-enhancing allegations of committing a crime while out on bail.
Some of the charges stem from the separate spousal abuse allegations that allegedly occurred Sept. 3 involving the same victim, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Valadez is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday via video conference from jail before a judge at the Banning Justice Center.
Valadez allegedly kidnapped the woman from an unspecified address in Palm Springs before noon last Wednesday. He allegedly drove around the Coachella Valley until Valadez’s car broke down near the Costco in Palm Desert, where the victim was able to escape and call 911, police said.
Valadez ran off, according to police, and a manhunt ensued. Palm Springs police tracked him down to a house in the eastern Coachella Valley with the assistance of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Gang Impact Team, where he was arrested without incident on Thursday night, police said.
At the time of his most recent arrest, Valadez was on bail stemming from an arrest on Sept. 8 stemming from the Sept. 3 incident in Palm Springs. He was arrested at that time on suspicion of spousal abuse and violating a domestic violence protective order. He was released later that day after making $50,000 bail, jail records show.
Valadez was convicted of two counts of robbery in 2013 in Riverside County, court records show. He also has a felony conviction for vehicle theft.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!