By Tanya Decendario
WOODLAND, CA – A kidnapping victim who suffered hours of seizure after the defendant held her captive in her own car, begged a Yolo County Superior Court judge last Friday to sentence her kidnapper to 10 years in prison, explaining the judge can prevent his future crimes.
Defendant Raymond Obregon allegedly forced himself in 2020 into the victim’s car and, for three and a half hours, threatened to kill her numerous times.
Fearing for her life, she considered crashing into a parked car or fence, in order to grab the attention of law enforcement.
Friday, Obregon appeared through Zoom at his sentencing in Yolo County Superior Court. He pleaded no contest to kidnapping and false imprisonment charges.
Upon introducing Obregon’s charges, Judge David Reed asked for further comments.
Deputy District Attorney Alex Kian responded and explained that Obregon’s victim would like to address the court.
The victim stated that she prepared a statement and would prefer a victim advocate to read it. Her victim advocate, Angelica Saldana, explained that the victim is feeling extremely nervous.
In the statement, the victim expressed speaking to Obregon on four different occasions, as she would often run into him while she volunteers.
One night, she said “he simply asked me for water, which I got for him from my rear passenger door. Then, he entered my vehicle without permission.” Then, she repeatedly asked him to get out while he continued to threaten her.
“I was terrorized for three and a half hours in my vehicle. He told me he had a gun… I believed him.” She further stated that Obregon is allegedly involved in a gang and sought revenge toward three to five men who beat him up.
“He screamed at every moment that he would kill me…It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced” she said. “Through the duration of three hours, I believed he would kill me at any moment.”
She said she “prayed to God” to save her—she was unable to run because she suffered from four kinds of heart disease, and had had previous heart attacks and heart surgeries.
During the incident, she feared the situation would cause her a fatal heart attack or stroke, as she was unable to reach her heart medicine. Due to the stress, she said she had severe seizures that lasted the entire three and a half hours.
“To escape, I pondered deliberately crashing into a parked car or fence to draw law enforcement to me,” said the victim, adding that she regretted not owning a gun as she could have shot him when he turned away. “He is extremely fortunate to be alive because I didn’t have a gun that night,” she said.
As her statement noting “Mr. Obregon is a dangerous man, not just to me, but to the community” was read in court, Obregon shook his head.
She continued to mention her fear of his release, noting that he will commit violent acts against others.
“Your Honor, you can prevent this… Next time, he may take a life. I don’t want that to happen to anyone,” she expressed to the judge, suggesting incarcerating him for 10 years, and said, “I have zero percent belief even that will correct this man.”
On the night of the incident, he allegedly forced her to drive 80-100 miles per hour on country roads, resulting in her hitting potholes and breaking her suspension. For this reason, she requested a restitution of $500.
Judge Reed thanked her for her statement, and ruled that the sentencing will be continued.
Tanya Decendario is a third-year student studying Legal Studies at UC Berkeley. She is originally from Sonoma, CA, but currently resides in Albany, CA.
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