COSTA MESA (CNS) - A 36-year-old Huntington Beach man was behind bars today in San Diego County on suspicion of kidnapping a 31-year-old woman he had taken on a date in Orange County.
Ricardo Rodrigo Salas was arrested early Monday following a short pursuit by Camp Pendleton police on southbound Interstate 5 that ended near the Aliso Creek rest area, California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Latulippe said.
Around 12:10 a.m. Monday, the 31-year-old woman escaped Salas' Toyota Tundra pickup at a vista point on southbound I-5, north of the Aliso Creek rest area, and borrowed a truck driver's phone to call 911, Latulippe said.
She told dispatchers she was on a date with the man in Costa Mesa when she requested to end the date, but he refused and kept driving on southbound I-5 toward San Diego, the officer said. He stopped at the vista point for unknown reasons and the woman was able to escape to call 911.
Oceanside CHP units were involved in an unrelated pursuit at the time, so Camp Pendleton police officers responded to the vista point to assist, Latulippe said. As officers arrived, Salas allegedly drove off in his Toyota before Camp Pendleton police caught up and stopped him near the Aliso Creek rest area.
The woman whose name was not released, was uninjured and was taken to the CHP Oceanside office, where she was released to family members, Latulippe said.
Salas was booked into the Vista Detention Facility shortly after 4:15 a.m. Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence, kidnapping and false imprisonment, according to jail records. He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail pending his arraignment, scheduled for July 31.
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