Mattawa man arrested on kidnapping, harassment allegations

DESERT AIRE — A Mattawa man was arrested late Sunday night after allegedly forcing his wife into his car against her will and threatening to kill her if she didn’t comply, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Antonio Martinez Carranza, 23, is facing charges of first-degree kidnapping and harassment/threats to kill.

A sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a gas station near 100 Desert Aire Drive Southwest in Desert Aire for a report of a woman who was grabbed and carried to a car against her will. According to the victim, she and Martinez Carranza had been in a verbal argument when he left her at the gas station. The victim reportedly had called her parents and was asking for a ride when Martinez Carranza returned and demanded she get in the car, according to the police report.

The parents told police they overheard a man they recognized as Martinez Carranza shout at their daughter, telling her he would kill her if she didn’t get in the car. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Martinez Carranza forcing the woman into the back seat of his vehicle, according to the police report.

Police requested the victim’s cellphone company to ping her cellphone to try to locate her, but it could not be pinged, according to the police report. Police then attempted to ping Martinez Carranza’s phone number, which showed him somewhere in the area of George.

Martinez Carranza was arrested without incident when found at the Desert Aire Motel and Shell and taken to the Grant County Jail. Police located the victim shortly afterward. According to the police report, a valid protection order was currently in place against Martinez Carranza when the incident occurred.