A woman suspected of kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in Winchester was arrested on Friday, Dec. 27 in Paramount, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies identified Olga Mendez, 44, of Menifee as the suspect in the case, which took place just over a week ago.
Around 10 a.m. on Dec. 18, deputies responded to a report of a domestic dispute near Olive Avenue and Leon Road in Winchester, an incorporated area of Perris. At the scene, they determined there had been an assault with a deadly weapon and a kidnapping.
The suspect fled the scene, authorities said. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A woman who identified herself as Erin Quinn on Facebook posted that Mendez lured her to the location by offering to donate presents for a toy drive Quinn was attending.
Quinn said on her Facebook page that she drove to a location given by Mendez, who had used a false name, and left her vehicle unattended for an undetermined amount of time to search for her.
“Little did I know, it was a setup and when I went back to my car, someone was in the back seat waiting for me with a taser,” Quinn wrote on Dec.19. “While the suspect was pulling my hair and repeatedly tazing me for over 30 times over a 25-minute span of time. She made me drive while this was going on threatening my boys and my mom would be next.”
Quinn said she told authorities that she recognized the suspect as her former house cleaner after she crashed her vehicle to escape.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on Saturday declined to comment on Quinn’s account or details of the case.
Deputies from the Perris station arrested Mendez in Paramount. She was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center for kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and two unrelated warrants.
Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact Deputy E. Lopez at the Perris Station at 951-210-1000.
City News Service contributed to this report.