PORT HUENEME : Kidnap Suspect Held After Police Chase

A 26-year-old Oxnard man who threatened his former roommate with a machete during an attempted kidnaping led police on a high-speed chase in Port Hueneme before being arrested, police said.

Guadalupe Ruiz was being held Thursday in lieu of $20,000 bail at the Main Jail in Ventura on suspicion of attempted kidnaping, being armed with a deadly weapon, evading a police officer and drunken driving, authorities said.

The victim, Amalia Luna, 32, moved out of the Oxnard residence she shared with Ruiz after they had a disagreement Tuesday, said Geri DeSanno, a Port Hueneme police dispatcher.

Ruiz spotted Luna on Wednesday night at a gas station at Pleasant Valley and Ventura roads in Port Hueneme and, armed with a machete, tried to force her into his car, DeSanno said.

When Port Hueneme Police Officer Larry Blinn drove into the gas station, Ruiz jumped into his car and sped down Pleasant Valley Road, traveling east in the westbound lanes, DeSanno said.

Blinn followed at speeds reaching 80 m.p.h. before Ruiz slowed his vehicle in the 100 block of Evergreen Lane and fled on foot, DeSanno said. He was captured in the back yard of a nearby residence, DeSanno said.

After Ruiz fled on foot, his empty car rolled backward and sideswiped an empty police car. The accident did minor damage to both vehicles, DeSanno said.

Luna was not injured, DeSanno said.