KING CITY — A King City woman was arrested Wednesday in connection with a March robbery and assault of a local man who she flagged down for help before pulling a gun on him.
According to the South County Major Crimes Unit, the victim was driving in the area of South San Lorenzo and Broadway streets in King City at about 12:32 a.m. on March 22 when he was flagged down by a female subject, later identified as 20-year-old Tania Ortiz of King City.
“When she got into his vehicle she produced a handgun, pointed it at the victim and told him where to drive to,” police said in a news release.
Ortiz directed the victim to pull into a vacant lot in the 1000 block of Industrial Way, where another vehicle pulled in behind him. A man dressed in dark-colored clothing got out, approached the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle and pointed a handgun at the victim, telling him to get out.
Both Ortiz and the victim got out of the vehicle, and the man struck the victim in the head with the handgun and demanded money from him. The victim gave the man his wallet, which contained U.S. currency, Mexican pesos and credit cards.
Police said the man struck the victim once more after demanding more money, causing a bleeding wound that “obscured his vision, and he became disoriented.” The suspects then left, and the victim drove home and reported the crime to King City Police Department.
Following an investigation and confirmation from the victim that Ortiz was the female who committed the crimes against him, local investigators and officers located Ortiz and arrested her on April 18 at about 11:30 p.m. She was taken to Monterey County Jail on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
“No other information is being released at this time, as the investigation is continuing,” police said.
Investigators are reaching out to the public for assistance on this incident. Anyone with more information is encouraged to contact Det. Leo Guzman at 831-888-7168, Det. Joshue Partida at 831-386-5991 or Sgt. Steve Kennedy at 831-386-5996 of the Major Crimes Unit, a collaboration between the King City and Greenfield police departments.
