Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — Police arrested an Ogden man accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and driving her around all night before she was able to escape in Evanston, Wyoming.
Irwine Corrales-Ochoa, 28, was booked into the Weber County Jail on Thursday, and was formally charged on Friday in 2nd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; robbery, a second-degree felony; and damaging a phone, a class B misdemeanor.
On Oct. 11, police say Corrales tracked down his ex-girlfriend who was at a bar in Ogden.
"In the bar, Irwine looked angry at her as she danced. The victim went to speak with Irwine so as to defuse the situation," according to a police affidavit.
The two went outside the bar to talk, and Corrales convinced her to get into his car to continue their conversation, police say.
"As soon as the female closed her door, Irwine locked the door and sped off. The female pleaded with Irwine to stop and let her out but he refused, driving erratically, and he told the female she was his," the affidavit states.
As they drove, Corrales hit the woman and told her he was not letting her out, the affidavit says. He drove up Ogden Canyon and toward Huntsville and Eden, police say, and when the woman attempted to use her cellphone to get help, Corrales took the phone.
About an hour after leaving the bar, Corrales stopped at the Monte Cristo campground. The woman "hit the car horn" and screamed to try and get the attention of others, prompting Corrales to hit her again and pull her by her hair back into the car when she tried to get out, according to the affidavit.
"Irwine continued driving and again stopped at a turnout near Monte Cristo. Irwine ripped the victim's purse from her hands, breaking the chain, and throwing the purse from the car somewhere in the Monte Cristo area in Cache County," the affidavit states. "Irwine drove until morning and the victim had no idea where they were."
When Corrales pulled into a gas station to fill up and left the car to get money, the woman ran into a local laundromat where she learned she was in Evanston, used the business' phone to call a relative for help and locked herself in a bathroom, police said. That was about 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 12.
Corrales went into the laundromat, and then left the area.
A hunter later found the woman's purse "in a remote area just east of Woodruff," the affidavit states, and called the woman.
On Wednesday, Ogden police spotted Corrales, pulled him over for using his phone while driving and then arrested him, the affidavit states.
Police have requested Corrales be held in jail pending charges. Officers note that he "is believed to have deliberately tracked the female victim down and confronted her with the intent to abduct her," prevented her from trying to escape, and drove to remote areas which is "especially troubling as similar cases have resulted in homicide," police wrote in the report.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. If you or anyone you know is experiencing domestic violence, there is a 24/7 confidential hotline available for help: 1-800-897-5465. You can access the national hotline at thehotline.org where confidential online chat is an option, as well as a 24-hour hotline.
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
