*Spelling of Neas corrected since original version.
A woman who had a restraining order out against her husband was kidnapped by him at a Santa Ana Rite Aid Oct. 10 before he drove her to the Costa Mesa residence of the man the ex- believed to be her lover.
The saga ended with Martin Bishop Neas,* 36, held without bail on suspected kidnapping, felony spousal battery, grand theft auto, burglary and violation of a restraining order.
Two mornings later, a similar incident began in Costa Mesa. Is it the moon? Something in the water? GMOs?
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Let's start at the beginning: The estranged wife of Neas was shopping at the Rite Aid in the 100 btock of North Main Street, Santa Ana, around 8:30 pm. Oct. 10 or last Thursday. She was unaware Neas was following her–until she went to the parking lot to enter her green Mini Cooper and was confronted by him.
He forced her into the passenger seat, and then from the driver's seat physically assaulted her, according to a Costa Mesa Police Department statement, which indicates the unidentified woman had obtained the restraining order in March.
Neas, whose last known address was in San Diego, began driving his estranged wife to Charles Street in Costa Mesa, where the supposed male lover lives. But she managed to break out of her car, run away and wind up in the 2000 block of Charles Street, which is from where she made her emergency call to police.
The Mini Cooper, which is LoJack-equipped, was driven off by Neas, who was captured by Long Beach Police early Friday, when cops also recovered the stolen car near Atlantic Avenue and New York Street. He's now being held without bail in Orange County Jail.
The woman, who suffered bruising and swelling to her head and face, declined treatment at a medical facility, according to police, who ask if anyone has further information on the case to call Detective Sergeant Ed Everett 714.754.5395.
The dust had barely settled from that incident when, around 1 a.m. Saturday, Jeremy Roy Curtis Turner, 24, arrived at a female acquaintance's residence in Costa Mesa.
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Also unidentified by authorities, she agreed to accompany Turner to his residence in the 9300 block of Valley View Street in Cypress.
But as they were leaving there, Turner grew upset with her, grabbed her arm so she could not leave and held a box cutter to her throat and stomach, according to Cypress Police, who allege the driver then drove around to various Orange County cities.
They stopped at a Starbucks in the 13100 block of Goldenwest Street in Westminster around 7:30 a.m., when the woman bolted out of the car and run to the nearby California Highway Patrol office. Westminster Police officers quickly arrived and arrested Turner without incident, according to Cypress Police, who add the man had money on him that had been taken from the woman's wallet.
Turner was held at Orange County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping and robbery.
Perhaps he and Neas can bunk together.
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.