Meth is a helluva drug. But seriously, two Swedish tourists just had a frightening run-in with a suspect whom police are calling "delusional" in a hotel parking lot in Petaluma, and they ended up assaulted and bloody.
The incident happened Thursday morning at the Best Western Petaluma Inn on South McDowell Blvd., and as KRON4 reports, it began just after two visitors from Sweden arrived at the hotel to pick up a friend who was staying there. They told police that a car pulled in behind them, boxing them in. And a suspect then got out of that car and confronted them, accusing them of having coming out of his hotel room.
According to Petaluma police, the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Kyler Udell of Fairfield, "entered their vehicle and struck both victims’ subsequently knocking one victim unconscious and the breaking the nose of the second victim."
Suspect arrested for Robbery, False Imprisonment, and Battery https://t.co/zmEkJeFsYj
— Petaluma Police Dept (@petaluma_police) December 9, 2022
Udell then allegedly held the victims against their will in the vehicle for nearly an hour, continuing to assault them, and "while he assaulted them, took their cellphones, and demanded they open the contents of their phones to him."
Police were called to the scene on a report of two bloody individuals in a vehicle, after a hotel employee saw them and called 911.
Arriving officers said that three people jumped out of the car and ran to them when they arrived, and officers ultimately determined that two of the people were victims of the third.
"Udell, who appeared to be delusional and possibly under the influence of a narcotic, accused the victims of coming from his room, where an unknown female was staying,” police said in a release. “He also stated that people were drugging him. Suspect Udell was arrested for robbery, false imprisonment, and battery resulting in a serious injury. Both victims were transported to Petaluma Valley Hospital. The victim’s friend was eventually located and verified their version of the incident. Suspect Udell was transported to the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility."
"The police department wishes to thank the hotel staff for vigilantly checking suspicious vehicles in their parking lot and immediately notifying the police department of the incident," police said.
