An 18-year-old from Whitewater, Wisc., has been arrested and is facing charges that include kidnapping after allegedly holding a female acquaintance against her will for days.
Police took Yefferson Guzman Rodriguez into custody at 11:11 a.m. Monday after spotting him on the street, according to the Whitewater Police Department. He tried to flee, but officers pursued him and deployed a taser when they said he actively resisted their attempts to apprehend him.
“Whitewater Unified School District staff were notified immediately that the suspect was approaching the area of Lincoln Elementary,” said the department. “The school was placed in a “hold lock” status until officers completed a search of the path Guzman Rodriguez ran to ensure that no weapons were found in the area.”
In a Monday press release, the police department explained that they received a call of a “female needing assistance” at 363 S. Janesville Street at around 10:25 p.m. Sunday evening. They discovered that Guzman Rodriguez had reportedly held her against her will for days and at one point held a gun to her head.
However, Guzman Rodriguez fled from that residence upon arrival of officers. He was reportedly armed at the time and police believed he had possibly barricaded himself in the basement or garage of a residence.
“Guzman Rodriguez had made comments to the victim about willingness to harm law enforcement,” said police. “Officers set a perimeter around the residence and garage. The Walworth County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and Beloit Police Department SWAT team responded to assist in the search of the property. The suspect was not located on the property during the search.
Whitewater Police simultaneously searched multiple residences occupied by individuals known to the suspect without locating him.”
During their investigation, authorities found that the female victim had been battered and strangled. She also reportedly lost consciousness at one point amid the ordeal.
Guzman Rodriguez will be confined at the Walworth County Jail, said the Whitewater police. He faces kidnapping, false imprisonment, first degree recklessly endangering safety, substantial battery, strangulation, disorderly conduct charges as well as a resisting/obstructing an officer charge.
Those charges have been sent to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office.
The Whitewater Police Department noted that “unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.”