Paso Robles man arrested after police say he threatened to kill mom with kitchen knife
A Paso Robles man was arrested Friday evening after allegedly holding his mother against her will with a large kitchen knife, police said in a release Saturday.
Around 7:20 p.m., the Paso Robles Police Department said it received a 911 call from a woman reporting that her elderly mother was being held against her will. The woman told officers that her mother’s son, Charles Courtemanche, had his mother at knife point, police said.
The woman also reported hearing her mother scream for help, that Courtemanche, 40, was going to kill her and that she wanted police to kill him, according to officers.
Police were informed by the caller that she could not reach her mother or Courtemanche by cellphone, according to the release.
Before officers were able to reach the residence in which the mother was being held, officers were notified that the mother was able to escape and drive to a nearby Walmart parking lot to wait for help, police said.
Once there, officers were able to make contact with the elderly woman, who police said “was visibly shaken and said multiple times that she thought she was going to die.”
When officers reached the home where the elderly woman was allegedly held by knife point, officers waited outside for Courtemanche to “eventually walk outside,” police said.
Ten minutes after the call, Courtemanche “walked out of the residence and was taken into custody without incident, according to police.
He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, threatening to kill another person, kidnapping, elder abuse and damaging a communication device with the intent to prevent contact by law enforcement, according to police.
Courtemanche was being held Sunday at San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, jail records show.
This story was originally published February 7, 2021 at 11:34 AM.
