SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA — A man intervened in an attempted kidnapping of a woman, firing a warning shot and causing the suspects to flee the scene without the victim. Police officers were called to the 500 block of Easterby Street at about 11:53 on Monday, January 11th. after multiple people reported hearing a gunshot and yelling, including a male who said “get in the car.”
Responding officers spotted a speeding sedan heading east on Easterby Street and pulled it over. They quickly determined that the three occupants of the vehicle were involved in the incident just reported and detained all three.
Officers who arrived on scene were told that a woman was the intended victim of a kidnapping attempt by the trio which included her ex-boyfriend, her father and her brother. Police said that the kidnapping was foiled by another resident in the victim’s home who opened fire with a handgun and caused the suspects to flee the scene
The suspects were identified as Partner Hooten, 46, David Wasylina, 59, and Zackary Wasylina, 34, all from Turlock. Hooten is the victim’s ex-boyfriend, while the Wasylinas are her father and brother. Investigators determined that Zackary contacted his sister at the front door and asked her to come out and talk to their father. When she stepped out of the house, she was then confronted by Hooten, who held her against her will and attempted to force her into the vehicle. During the struggle, Hooten reportedly waved a firearm in the air and threatened to kill himself and the victim.
Another occupant of the home also came outside with is handgun after hearing the disturbance. Upon seeing the victim being forced into a vehicle, he fired a round into the ground to stop the crime in progress. He was successful in doing so, as it caused Hooten to let the woman go before all three suspects fled in the vehicle. No one was injured during the incident.
All three suspects were booked into the Marin County Jail, with bail for all three set at $100,000 each. Hooten was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, felon in possession of a firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of a controlled substance. David Wasylina was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and an outstanding $50,000 warrant out of Stanislaus County. Zackary Wasylina was charged with possession of a loaded firearm and conspiracy to commit a crime.
If Hooten was intent on carrying out his threats, a single warning shot into the ground by the man who intervened may well have stopped a murder-suicide. He was out-gunned 2 to 1, and fortunately the suspects didn’t engage him in a gunfight with the victim potentially in the crossfire. While warning shots are not recommended, it seems to have done it’s job in this instance.
