Yuba City woman, child held captive for 10 days in Colusa

A Colusa man faces multiple felony charges after he allegedly held a Yuba City mother and her 3-year-old son hostage since New Year's Eve.

The woman, 33, and child escaped Thursday afternoon from an East Oak Street home, Colusa police reported.

A passing motorist saw the woman and took her and the child to the Colusa County Sheriff's Department, which notified Colusa police.

The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at Colusa Regional Medical Center for injuries she allegedly suffered when she tried to escape and was beaten.

The boy was not injured, police said.

Police arrested Jermaine Lonell Roberts, 35, on Thursday night.

Roberts and the woman were apparently involved in a relationship that ended a few months ago, police said.

The woman, who was not listed as missing, reported that she was kidnapped about 11 p.m. Dec. 31 while she was sitting in her car in the 500 block of Clay Street, police said. The boy was asleep in the back seat.

"Roberts forced the victim to drive to his home on Oak Street, just outside the city limits, where he held her and her son there for several days," police said in a statement. "When the victim tried to flee the house, Roberts caught her and severely beat the victim, inflicting significant injuries."

The woman escaped when Roberts was sleeping, police said.

Roberts fled his home and was found in a neighbor's residence, where he was arrested, according to police.

Roberts was booked into Colusa County Jail on multiple felony counts, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, oral copulation by force, and assault with a deadly weapon not a firearm with the likelihood of great bodily injury. Bail was set at $315,000.