Cleveland man charged with kidnapping after incident in Painesville

William Tilton, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
Updated ·2 min read

Jan. 11—A 29-year-old Cleveland man was arraigned in Painesville Municipal Court and charged with first-degree felony kidnapping.

Paul A. Wyatt received no bond and a no-contact order with the victims.

Judge Paul R. Malchesky presided over the arraignment on Jan. 10.

According to a news release from the Painesville Police Department, at approximately 1:52 p.m. on Jan. 9, officers responded to a fight complaint on Richmond Street. Lake County Sheriffs' Office deputies were already in the area and were able to detain several parties as Painesville police officers arrived.

According to a post on the Lake County Sheriff Office Facebook page, a deputy found the male walking southbound on Richmond Street. Despite multiple commands to stop the male continued to walk while continually looking back at the deputy. When a second Deputy arrived on scene the male stopped and sat on the sidewalk. The man was detained and turned over to the custody of the Painesville City police upon their arrival.

According to the Facebook post, a later investigation found that the male suspect stopped a car driven by a woman on Jackson Street and assaulted her. He then walked over to a female standing on the corner of Richmond St. and Jackson St. He grabbed the female and demanded her cell phone. When she tried to get away he assaulted her. The female struck Wyatt in the face and she fell to the ground.

According to the Painesville PD news release, several bystanders and witnesses to the event intervened and the suspect let go of the female and began to leave the area.

According to the sheriff department's Facebook post, this appears to be a random act and both women who were assaulted were unknown to the assailant. Wyatt is a parolee from Cleveland. He was released from prison less than 2 weeks ago after serving time for aggravated robbery, assault and carrying a concealed weapon.

Responding officers arrested Wyatt and transported him to the Lake County Jail where he was held without bond.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with additional information or who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the Painesville Police Department at 440-392-5839.