He faces two felonies.
BAY CITY, MI — A Bay City man is charged with kidnapping a woman by allegedly drunkenly driving her around in a car and not letting her escape.
Just before 11:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, Bay County Central Dispatch received a call from a 48-year-old woman, saying she was a passenger in a Cadillac STS driven by Jonathon R. Matousek, 35. Matousek was intoxicated and speeding, running red lights and stop signs, scaring his passenger and not letting her out, the woman told dispatchers.
After the woman gave her location, the call died. She called back a short while later, saying she was out of the car near North Lincoln and Second streets, but that Matousek was yelling at her in the road.
Police arrived and found the woman on the corner. She told them she and Matousek had been to a couple of bars earlier in the night and he had wanted her to stay at his house. She told Matousek — whom she said was only a friend — that she did not want to stay with him and wanted to stay at her own Bay City home, she told police.
After she drove him to a party store, Matousek got behind the wheel of the Cadillac and began driving, the woman said. He drove her throughout Essexville, stepping on the gas whenever she opened the door to get out, she said. She opened the door five to six times and repeatedly yelled for help, she said.
Matousek eventually drove to his apartment in the 1400 block of Second Street, parked it, and went inside, leaving her on the corner.
Officers knocked on Matousek’s door, which he answered while shirtless. He denied having driven the car, saying the woman had been driving. He declined to comment further, requesting a lawyer, court records show.
Police obtained a search warrant for a sample of Matousek’s blood and took him to McLaren Bay Region hospital to get it. They then lodged him in the Bay County Jail.
On Tuesday, Jan. 23, Matousek appeared before Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for arraignment on single counts of unlawful imprisonment and third-offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The former is a 15-year felony, while the latter is punishable by up to five years‘ incarceration.
Kelly set Matousek’s bond at $35,000 cash-surety. Matousek is to appear for a preliminary examination at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
