Police: Napa Felon Arrested after Abuse, Chase, Kidnapping and Lockdown

After a land and air pursuit from South Napa Marketplace to the area, where the campus was briefly put on lockdown as a precaution, a Napa man was arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of false imprisonment, domestic battery, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and resisting arrest, according to a press release from the .

Jason Salinas, 29, was found hiding in a residence in the 1500 block of Menlo Avenue following the pursuit and lockdown, police said.

According to the press release, the chain of events started while many Napa High students were at lunch, when officers received a call about a man beating a woman inside a Chevy Blazer in the South Napa Marketplace parking lot. But when police arrived at the scene, the man and woman were gone.

Officers began receiving updates on the couple’s whereabouts from a probation officer who spotted the Blazer and recognized Salinas, the driver, as a wanted felon who was considered to be dangerous and possibly in the possession of a handgun.

The probation officer followed Salinas’ vehicle as he drove toward Lincoln Avenue. 

Police saw the Blazer northbound at California Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue. When police caught up with Salinas’ vehicle, he bailed and ran a few blocks to a residence on Menlo Avenue, according to the press release.

Police surrounded the area and searched for the suspect with a K-9 and the CHP airplane.

Because of the close proximity of Napa High, and believing Salinas could be armed, school officials were notified and the school was locked down, police said.

Meanwhile a woman ran from her house on Menlo Avenue and told police a strange man, who later was identified as Salinas, was inside her residence, police said.

A short time later, police arrested Salinas at the scene. The woman identified Salinas as the man inside her home. She told police while he was in her house, he would not let her leave.

Officers discovered Salinas was wearing clothes he stole from the woman’s residence and had other items belonging to her, police said.

The woman allegedly assaulted by Salinas at South Marketplace later told police he would not let her out of the car as he drove recklessly trying to lose the probation officer who was following his Blazer, police said.

The woman had visible signs of injuries she suffered from Salinas, police said.

No gun was seen or found.

Salinas was booked at the . Arrest information does not indicate a conviction.

"Emergency drills worked"

A Napa High teacher known to Patch, who is not authorized to speak for the school and therefore asked not to be identified, emailed an eyewitness account of the lockdown:

Napa High regularly conducts emergency readiness, including lockdown drills, so we were prepared. One of the campus supervisors RAN all over campus alerting teachers, shouting, 'Lockdown this is REAL' while the alarm went off, and whoosh, within a few minutes the campus was empty. Teachers stood at the doors urging kids to come in. It was very fast, faster than it takes to type this. We thought we could hear a helicopter overhead. It lasted almost an hour--just a a little excitement. I wasn't afraid because we had practiced so many times. Those emergency drills worked.

Napa High parents were notified of the lockdown by phone, said mom Lisa Batto, on Patch:

Thank you teachers! I received a district phone call at 1:55 alerting me to the lock down and was very thankful as they ended the call with the fact that the person had been arrested. I asked my son what it was like...he said Bells went off and he and other kids didn't know what it meant - but the teachers were quick to let them know. A few hours later my out of school daughter called me in a panic with the news, she was quickly calmed when I told her the person was arrested. So huge thank you to the district for their phone announcement and to the teachers for acting quickly!

For the latest reports on crime and arrests in Napa, please see our Police & Fire section, available from the News tab above and at napa.patch.com/police-fire.

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