Ex-athlete accused of abduction attempt – New Mexico
By T.S. Last / Journal Staff Writer
December 3, 2013
CATRON: Accused previously of stalking
A 21-year-old Eldorado man who was arrested over the weekend for allegedly trying to abduct a woman in downtown Santa Fe was accused just two months ago of stalking a female bartender.
In that case, Ryan N. Catron – apparently a former award-winning athlete in competitions among deaf athletes – was charged with DWI but no crimes against the bartender he allegedly followed after she left the Cheeks strip club on Cerrillos.
Now, Catron is facing counts of kidnapping, battery and assault with intent to commit a violent felony after Santa Fe police say he choked and forced a woman into his vehicle early Sunday morning. The 24-year-old woman managed to escape with minor injuries, police said.
Catron was arrested after a search that included the efforts of a New Mexico State Police helicopter crew that located him hiding in a tree near his Eldorado home. Catron is being held in the Santa Fe County jail on $100,000 cash bond.
In October, he was charged with DWI and careless driving after he crashed his pickup truck into a brick wall on the 2800 block of Cerrillos Road. According to the police report, that crash occurred while Catron was fleeing a couple of bouncers at Cheeks after being alerted that Catron was “stalking” a female bartender.
It was also discovered at that time that Catron had an outstanding felony warrant out of Indiana for child solicitation, according to SFPD spokeswoman Celina Westervelt.
“It seems similar to the other case,” Westervelt said of Catron’s latest arrest, “but on this one (on Sunday) it seems he hadn’t had previous contact with the victim.”
Westervelt said Catron’s latest run-in with the law started about 2:45 a.m. Sunday after a woman had left El Paseo Bar and Grill on Galisteo Street downtown. She reported hearing someone walking behind her before she got into her car, which was at the parking garage on San Francisco. Moments later, Catron flagged her down and asked to use her cellphone.
Catron, who is hearing impaired, used the phone to type a message asking if she would give him a ride to his car, parked several blocks away near Marcy and Washington streets.
The woman complied, telling police she felt she was performing a “good deed” by assisting the man.
After arriving at his car, Catron allegedly asked the woman if he could follow her home and sleep in her driveway because he was afraid of getting arrested for DWI again.
While she declined that request, she did agree to assist him in locating a phone charger inside his car, a white Volvo 240. The victim told police she found the charger and plugged it in for Catron.
While the woman was standing with her back to the open driver’s side door, Catron allegedly asked for a goodbye hug. The woman told police that Catron then started to choke or strangle her for about 20 seconds while at the same time forcing her into his car and then trying to lock the doors.
“She was able to kick him off and scramble around to the passenger side and escaped that way,” Westervelt said.
According to jail records, Catron is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. Westervelt estimated the woman’s size to be 5-4, 130.
The woman then ran into the middle of Marcy Street and flagged down a security guard in the area and called 911, while Catron allegedly drove off down Washington Street.
Because Catron told the victim via the note pad application on her phone his name and address, police knew where to look. SFPD called for assistance from Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico State Police to help locate the suspect. Law enforcement arrived at the home in Eldorado where they saw a Volvo matching the description the victim gave and knocked on the door.
“It sounds like the suspect escaped out of the house and ran into a field,” Westervelt said.
Lt. Emmanuel T. Gutierrez of the State Police said a state helicopter was then called in to help with the search. The chopper crew located Catron hiding in a tree by using an infrared, heat-seeking camera. He was apprehended after a brief foot chase about three hours after the victim placed the 911 call, Westervelt said.
‘Extremely scary’
“It was an extremely scary situation for the victim to be in,” Westervelt said. “The victim said she was just trying to do a good deed and be a Good Samaritan. But we want to emphasize that, if you want to help someone, be sure you stay safe and don’t be afraid to contact police if you need an escort. We would rather walk you to your car and make sure you get there safely than for something like this to occur.”
Catron is believed to be the son of first-year New Mexico School for the Deaf boys basketball coach Dennis Catron, who did not return phone or email messages left by the Journal on Monday. Police confirmed that the father of suspect Ryan Catron is Dennis Catron.
An online search turned up several references to Dennis and Ryan Catron’s experiences with basketball, and competitive road and mountain biking in Indiana, the state where the suspect in Sunday’s alleged abduction has faced a prior charge.
Ryan Catron was selected to play in the USA Deaf Basketball’s East-West All-Star Game in 2010. He also represented the USA at the World Deaf Cycling Championship held in Canada in 2011.
“Watch out for young rookie, Ryan Catron,” his coach said in an article published on usdeafsports.org, the USA Deaf Sports Federation’s website. “He has a lot of potential.”
The circumstances surrounding the child-solicitation charges in Indiana are unclear, but police and court records indicate that it is an extraditable offense. A hearing on his fugitive status was held in district court in Santa Fe on Nov. 14.
Previous case
Records also indicate he pleaded not guilty to the DWI and careless driving charges on Oct. 15, two days after he crashed his truck near Cheeks.
The police report for that incident says that a female Cheeks bartender claimed she left the club that night about 2 a.m. and, while driving home, she noticed that a truck was following her. The woman circled a block several times to confirm her suspicions and then stopped to see who was in the truck. She recognized Catron, who she said had ordered a drink from her earlier in the evening.
The woman then called her boss and drove back to Cheeks while Catron continued to follow her. When she arrived, two bouncers from the club came outside and Catron allegedly attempted to flee the scene, but struck a brick wall and high-centered his vehicle.
He had been out of jail pending disposition of the charges from this incident when he was arrested Sunday.
SOURCE:
http://www.abqjournal.com/312826/news/exathlete-accused-of-abduction-attempt.html