Suspect in Attempted Kidnapping in Battle Creek Receives Charges
A Battle Creek man was formally arraigned Monday afternoon after being arrested on attempting to kidnap a woman riding her bike late last week.
The Battle Creek Police responded to an area of the 1600 block of West Michigan Avenue in Urbandale around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21st, after witnesses spotted a man get out of his vehicle and attempt to take the woman into his car from the bike she was riding. Officers were in the Urbandale area after a man was seen in the backyard of a home a few blocks away on Lacey Avenue and was chased off by a resident there.
Earlier today in a virtual arraignment at the Calhoun County District Court, 38-year-old Robert Martinez was charged with a felony count of Attempted Kidnapping and a Misdemeanor charge of Prowling. During the arraignment, Assistant Prosecutor Dan Buscher stated that authorities believe that Martinez and the 34-year-old woman have no prior relationship before the incident.
Martinez is being held on bond and is expected to return to court June 10th for a preliminary exam. A pre-trial conference has also been schedule for the Prowling charge on June 9th. He faces five years in prison if convicted.