SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced to nine years and eight months in state prison today for kidnapping and threatening a woman that he had a romantic relationship with after carving his name on her chest.

Circumstances of the Case

• Between March 17, 2015, and March 20, 2015, Mendoza engaged in multiple verbal arguments with Jane Doe and punched her on several occasions.
• The defendant forced Jane Doe to sit in his car while he was at work and threatened her with violence in order to keep her from leaving the car.
• On or about March 22, 2015, the defendant told the victim he would let her leave if she allowed him to carve his name onto her chest. Mendoza used a razor blade to carve his first name onto the victim's chest and forced the victim to stay in the house.
• Later that evening, the defendant forced the victim into his vehicle and drove her to several parking lots in Santa Ana.
• Mendoza held the victim against her will in his vehicle by intimidating and threatening her with violence if she attempted to leave the vehicle.
• On March 23, 2015, Mendoza punched Jane Doe in the face, attempted to strangle the victim by putting his hands around her neck, head-butted her in the face, and tried to hold her in the vehicle by grabbing her arm.
• The victim was able to escape the defendant's car and run to a local business where she reported the crime to an employee and called 911.

The Santa Ana Police Department investigated this case and arrested the defendant in a relative's garage on March 26, 2015.

Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Caroline Smith, Family Protection Unit.

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 15CF0617 / May 12, 2017