A Utah man was arrested and charged with kidnapping and multiple counts of assault in connection with allegations that he held a woman in a home for “several weeks” and repeatedly beat her, police said.
The man, Ramone Martinez, 39, of Salt Lake City, is charged with one count of aggravated kidnapping, five counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault, according to a probable cause affidavit filed for his arrest Wednesday.
A Salt Lake City police officer went to the home after police got a tip that the woman was being held against her will, the affidavit says. She had texted someone, saying she was scared for her life and begging for help, according to the document. The recipient of the text spoke with police, it says.
When the officer arrived at the home, Martinez had his hand in his hoodie pocket, according to the affidavit. The officer, who could see an outline of a gun, ordered him to put his hands in the air, the affidavit says. Martinez complied and was detained, it says.
The officer then spoke with the woman, who had “heavy bruising around both eyes,” according to the affidavit. She told the officer that her ribs were hurting and that she was having difficulty breathing, it says.
“She stated that over a period of several weeks she was threatened to be killed and was assaulted. During this time she was unable to leave or go anywhere freely,” the document says.
The woman told the officer that she was assaulted six times on Wednesday and that on two of those occasions, she was strangled, according to the affidavit. On another occasion, her captor held a knife against her throat, the document says.
According to the woman, the man also “grabbed a knife and carved the number 6 in the victim’s left hand stating that she had 6 months to love him or be killed,” the affidavit says.
Martinez was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for high blood pressure. At the hospital, without being prompted, he admitted strangling the woman, adding that he did so during consensual sex, the affidavit says.
The document also says he threatened to go to Mexico and kill the woman’s brother. According to the affidavit, Martinez has said he is a millionaire with another home in Arizona, many guns and “access to a large amount of money.”
He was booked in the county jail. The affidavit says he is likely to flee if he is released on bail because he has business contacts in California, Oregon and Arizona,
It was not immediately clear Thursday morning whether Martinez had an attorney.
