Sheriff’s officials reported Tuesday night that an estranged husband, who allegedly kidnapped his wife in Canyon Country on April 9, is now in custody.
Detectives with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s Career Offenders, Burglary, Robbery, Assault, or COBRA unit, identified the suspect as Rueben Castellanos, 22, in a social media update posted Tuesday night. Castellanos allegedly threatened the victim’s life, disabled her cellphone and planned to take her to Mexico, where “no one would be able to find her body,” according to sheriff’s officials.
Castellanos had a prior criminal history and gang connections, sheriff’s officials said in the Facebook post.
The victim convinced Castellanos to stop at a shopping mall in Topanga so she could use the restroom, where the victim was able to alert a security officer by yelling that she was being kidnapped, according to the post.
Castellanos reportedly fled the location and was able to get away, but COBRA detectives began an investigation. Los Angeles Police Department officers reportedly encountered Castellanos during an unrelated call for an alleged assault Saturday and notified station officials.
Deputies were then dispatched to retrieve Castellanos and transported him back to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station jail. He’s currently being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the Sheriff’s Department records.
Prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case Tuesday regarding the incident, which included a kidnapping charge, as well as several other alleged felonies, according to station officials.
