Matthew D. Muller, Kidnapping, California 2015

A chilling kidnapping case has unfolded in California, as a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Matthew D. Muller, 38, of South Lake Tahoe, charging him with one count of kidnapping, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, it is alleged that in the early morning hours of March 23, 2015, Muller broke into a residence in Vallejo, restrained the male occupant and kidnapped the female occupant. It is further alleged that he demanded a $15,000 ransom, held her for two days, and ultimately released her in Huntington Beach. Muller was identified as a suspect in the Vallejo kidnapping following an investigation and his arrest on residential home-invasion burglary charges that occurred in Alameda County on June 5, 2015.

“The bizarre circumstances of the events in Vallejo in March complicated the investigation of this matter,” said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “But the Vallejo Police Department, the FBI, and our law enforcement allies in Alameda County have done excellent work in recent months to bring this investigation to a conclusion.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the Dublin Police Services and the Vallejo Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew D. Segal and Heiko P. Coppola are prosecuting the case.

Muller is currently being held in the Sacramento County Jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, October 5, 2015, before United States Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman at 2:00 p.m.

If convicted, Muller faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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