RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A man is in custody on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in Kalamazoo County on Friday.
Deputies said Saturday afternoon that at 1:37 p.m. Friday the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call reporting that a victim of an assault was on North 24th Street near Old 24th Street. The callers were a couple delivering newspapers when they were approached by a 30-year-old Kalamazoo woman who was crying and covered in blood.
The woman was transported to Bronson Hospital where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Deputies said they learned that the victim had received a ride from an acquaintance and at some point they drove out of the city of Kalamazoo to an area in Richland Township. During the ride the suspect brandished a firearm and drove to a secluded area off of 24th Street. Outside of the vehicle the victim was struck in the head with an unknown object and was sexually assaulted.
Deputies said a 29-year-old man from Kalamazoo fled the scene in his vehicle, leaving the victim behind.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office interviewed the victim at Bronson Hospital and were able to identify the suspect.
The victim was admitted to the hospital for observation.
At 5 p.m. Friday, detectives spotted the suspect vehicle on Patterson Street near Staples Street. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officers arrived in the area and the vehicle fled. It was located a short time later unoccupied on LuLu Street.
KDPS officers then spotted the suspect walking on Park Street and after a short foot pursuit he was apprehended.
The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office has authorized charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
Bond was denied.
The man’s name is being withheld until his arrangement in court on Monday.
Anyone who may have further information is being asked to contact the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office by calling (269) 383-8748 or Silent Observer by calling (269) 343-2100 or at http://www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com on the Web.