Violent incidents in March, April lead to felony charges against Lorain man

Two alleged violent incidents involving family members in less than one week in March and April have resulted in multiple felony charges against a Lorain man. Luis Manuel Gonzalez-Rodriguez, 31, is facing two counts of kidnapping, two counts of domestic violence, and one count each of robbery, felonious assault, failure to comply, violating a protection order, theft and obstructing official business, all felonies, and one count each of endangering children, interference with custody and theft, all misdemeanors, in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. He was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $600,000 bond. The cases, which are assigned to Judge Melissa Kobasher's court, cover two incidents — one each on March 28 and April 3. In the March 28 incident, Gonzalez-Rodriguez's girlfriend told Lorain County Sheriff's deputies that he had punched her in the face and thrown her out of his mother's SUV. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said the victim was bleeding from the nose and mouth, sobbing and intoxicated when deputies found her in the area of Elyria and Toledo avenues just after 10 p.m. that day. The woman said she had moved to Ohio from Florida two years earlier to be with Gonzalez-Rodriguez, and that he assaulted her after an argument. She also had a protection order against him in Common Pleas Court. Gonzalez-Rodriguez, whom Pierre said had a warrant out for his arrest in Florida on a charge of domestic battery, was seen driving his mother's silver Mazda SUV on Elyria Avenue. He refused to stop for deputies, speeding through residential areas and running stop signs. Gonzalez-Rodriguez eventually stopped the SUV behind a Sheffield Township apartment complex. Cornered at gunpoint by a deputy, he ran off and couldn't be found, Pierre said. His wallet, with his Ohio and Florida IDs, were found inside the SUV. In the April 3 incident, Elyria police said Gonzalez-Rodriguez tried to take his child from the child's mother when they stopped at the Friendship Gas Station on Beechwood Drive near state Route 57 just after 11 a.m. Gonzalez-Rodriguez, who doesn't have custody of the child, was arguing with the woman while all three of them rode in the car together. Elyria police said when she got out of the car at the gas station, Gonzalez-Rodriguez slid over into the driver's seat and drove off. The mother jumped onto the hood of the car and tried to stop it, but was able to climb off and no injuries were reported. After an alert was issued for Gonzalez-Rodriguez, the child and the car. An hour later, authorities found the car parked, unoccupied, at a storage facility on Toledo Avenue in Lorain. Gonzalez-Rodriguez and the child were found at a house on 39th Street in Lorain 90 minutes later and the child was returned to the mother. The domestic violence charges are felonies because Gonzalez-Rodriguez was convicted of misdemeanor attempted assault in Rocky River Municipal Court in 2024. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.