San Rafael kidnapping victim rescued; 3 suspects arrested, police say

By Carlos E. Castañeda

Officers rescued a woman who had been kidnapped and assaulted in San Rafael over the weekend, and three suspects were arrested, authorities said Monday.

The San Rafael Police Department said in a press release that dispatchers received a 911 call Saturday at about 9:45 a.m. from a female victim reporting she had been kidnapped and was being taken to an unknown location. The dispatchers used GPS data to determine she was on Robert Dollar Drive, adjacent to Boyd Memorial Park. The victim reported that three suspects were in the vehicle doing drugs and one of them carried a knife, police said.

Officers responded to an open space area next to Robert Dollar Drive and could hear the victim, who had escaped from the vehicle, screaming for help as the vehicle fled from the scene, police said. Other officers located and stopped the suspect vehicle a few blocks away; 24-year-old Vallejo resident Sergio Godinez-Lopez and San Rafael residents Christopher Moneroso, 21, and Jonathan Valenzuela-Castro, 21, were each detained.

While being detained and during a search, Valenzuela-Castro was found to have a concealed and loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine, police said. 

The investigation determined that the victim and the suspects had arranged to meet through an app in San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood. However, once the suspects picked up the victim, they decided to change the plans, refusing the victim’s pleas to be let go, according to police. They drove to the open space area of Robert Dollar Drive, prevented the victim from fleeing, and threatened her with a knife, police said.  

The victim was able to call 911 and eventually escape just before officers located her and the suspect vehicle fled, police said.

The suspects were each booked into the Marin County Jail.

Valenzuela-Castro faces charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with the intent to commit rape, carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, possessing an unregistered firearm, and possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine. Monteroso was booked on charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit a crime, assault with a deadly weapon-knife, and criminal threats. Godinez-Lopez faces charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit a crime, and drug possession.

Police asked anyone with information about the crime to call the department at (415) 485-3000. Tips can also be sent online at srpd.org/tips.