Police arrested a Paso Robles man Saturday morning on suspicion of elder abuse, assaulting his mother with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
According to a news release from the Paso Robles Police Department, dispatchers received a call at approximately 7:20 p.m. Friday from a woman who said her mother was being held at knifepoint against her will by her 40-year-old son, Charles Courtemanche, of Paso Robles.
The woman told dispatchers she heard her mother in the background screaming for help and her brother, Charles, saying he was going to kill her and wanted police officers to kill him. The caller said she could no longer reach her mother or brother by cell phone, according to the news release.
Before officers arrived at the Paso Robles home, police received a second call advising the mother was able to escape from the home and driving to a Walmart parking lot to wait for law enforcement, authorities said.
When police arrived at the Walmart parking lot, officials said they learned the mother had been held against her will by her son with a large kitchen knife. Officers said the woman was "visibly shaken" and said multiple times that she thought she was going to die.
Paso Robles police learned Charles was the only person inside the home but could not contact him by cell phone. Officers waited outside the Paso Robles home for Charles to walk outside, according to law enforcement.
Charles walked out of the home at approximately 7:30 a.m. Saturday and was taken into custody without incident, said authorities.
Officers booked Charles into the San Luis Obispo County Jail, charging him with threatening with the intent to terrorize, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, elder abuse and damaging a wireless communication device, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office.
Charles is being held on a $50,000 bond, according to sheriff's deputies.
