CLEARLAKE – Authorities are seeking a man who is alleged to have been involved in a kidnapping last week.

Lt. Mike Hermann of the Clearlake Police Department reported Thursday that police are looking for Anthony Cape, 41, who has been identified as one of three suspects responsible for kidnapping a man from a Clearlake residence on the night of Dec. 4.

Hermann said Cape, a Mendocino County resident, is described as a white male adult, approximately 6 feet tall, weighing 230 pounds, with blond hair and green eyes.

Authorities have already taken into custody two other suspects in the case, 34-year-old Priest Rogelio Martinez and 20-year-old James Paul Miller, both from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County, according to Hermann.

Hermann reported that on the night of Dec. 4 California Highway Patrol Dispatch received a 911 call from a male subject on a cell phone who said he had been beaten, tied up and kidnapped, and was being held in the trunk of his own vehicle in the Clearlake area.

The victim described the vehicle, and said the three suspects involved – who didn't know he had a cell phone – were driving him to an unknown location, according to Hermann.

Dispatchers were able to pinpoint the victim's location through cell phone towers in the area of where his phone signal was coming from, said Hermann.

Hermann said authorities issued a countywide “be on the lookout” notice and local law enforcement officers began to post at locations around the county to watch for the subjects.

At one point during the incident, dispatchers reportedly heard the victim being assaulted by the unknown suspects, who had apparently stopped and taken his phone, said Hermann.

Because the call ended, Hermann said officers were only able to obtain a generalized area where the victim may have been.

Officials continued searching for the man throughout the night without success, said Hermann.

However, at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 5 the man appeared at a business at Ogulin Canyon Road, where police were called, Hermann reported.

The victim told police he had been at a residence in the 3100 block of Fourth Street the night before when several subjects assaulted him, Hermann said. The man then stated the suspects bound him with plastic zip ties, broke his cell phone and placed him in the trunk of his own vehicle, in which the suspects then drove off.

The man told police that he believed the suspects were going to kill him, Hermann reported.

While he was held in the trunk the victim was able to retrieve an additional cell phone that he had on his person and called 911, according to Hermann.

At one point police were so close that the victim said he could hear the sirens of nearby police cars while he was on the phone, Hermann said.

The man told police he had used the trunk release handle to unlock the trunk but was seen by the suspects who stopped, beat him and broke the second cell phone as well, Hermann reported. The suspects then abandoned the vehicle on a dirt road near the north end of the city and left the victim at the location as they fled.

The victim remained at the location for the rest of the night before he was able to completely free himself and make his way to the nearby business, said Hermann. The man was transported to Redbud Hospital where he received medical treatment for a variety of injuries sustained during the incident.

Based on the man's description of the area, officers were able to locate the vehicle and after the scene was processed, the vehicle was towed and stored, said Hermann.

Afterwards, Hermann said the victim was able to give a full account of what had occurred which included identifying the persons involved and the location where the incident began.

The victim identified the three suspects as Martinez, Miller and Cape, all out of Mendocino County, said Hermann.

Hermann said police executed a search warrant on Dec. 5 at the Fourth Street residence where the alleged assault and kidnapping occurred. No one was at the location at the time and several items were confiscated as evidence.

At the same time, deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department found Martinez at a Redwood Valley residence where they initially arrested him for probation violations, according to Hermann. Mendocino County Sheriff's booking records show he also was charged with possession of ammunition and paraphernalia, and failures to appear.

Arrest warrants were eventually issued for Martinez, Miller and Cape for charges including kidnapping and robbery with bail set at $750,000, Hermann reported.

Martinez’s warrant was served on him at the Mendocino County Jail, while Miller was arrested by Clearlake Police and booked into the Lake County Jail on his warrant during the evening of Dec. 12, said Hermann. Police continue to search for Cape.

Hermann said the investigation into the incident is still ongoing with the assistance of investigators from the Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Police aren't releasing further information about the case at this time, Hermann added.

Anyone with information about Cape is asked to call Hermann or Detective Sergeant Tom Clements at the Clearlake Police Department, 707-994-8251.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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