Lake County man jailed in suspected violence against Ukiah man

A Lake County man was in custody, suspected of kidnapping, violence and sexual assault involving a Ukiah man, sheriff's officials reported Tuesday.

Deputies arrested Arturo Pedro Gutierrez, 50, of Upper Lake. He was being held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $500,000 for multiple felony crimes, said Capt. Jim Bauman.

The victim was a 22-year-old Ukiah man who said he'd been hired to work on the man's Bridge Arbor Road ranch trimming marijuana plants, officials said.

Deputies learned of the alleged crimes when the victim went to a Mendocino County hospital Friday for treatment of a variety of injuries.

The young man told deputies he'd been held captive for about two weeks, beaten, sexually assaulted and forced to work.

At first the victim was hired to work but after he broke down in a vehicle owned by Gutierrez, he was told he'd have to work off the cost of the damage, Bauman reported.

After about two weeks the rancher took the victim to Ukiah and let him go, threatening him if he told, Bauman said.

Deputies went to Gutierrez' home at about 11 p.m. Saturday and arrested him.

Deputies didn't find signs of a marijuana grow, but found about 25 gallon sized bags of processed marijuana and about 10 garbage bags full of marijuana.

Medical marijuana cards found on the premises didn't belong to Gutierrez. Possible charges relating to marijuana processing remained under investigation.