PASO ROBLES – On Friday, Feb. 5 at 7:20 p.m., Paso Robles Police Department (PRPD) Dispatch received a 911 call from a woman reporting her elderly mother was being held against her will at knifepoint by her adult son, Charles Courtemanche. The caller also advised she heard her mother in the background scream for help and her brother Charles Courtemanche said he would kill her and wanted the police to kill him. The caller stated she could no longer reach her mother or brother by cell phone.
Before officers arrived at the Paso Robles residence, PRPD received a second call advising the elderly mother was able to escape from the residence and drive to the parking lot of Wal-Mart to wait for help. There, the officers learned she had been held against her will by her son with a large kitchen knife. The elderly woman was visibly shaken and said multiple times that she thought she was going to die.
Officers learned Courtemanche was the only one inside the residence. Unable to contact him by cell phone, officers waited outside the residence for Courtemanche to eventually walk outside. At approximately 7:30 a.m. the next morning, Courtemanche walked out of the residence and was taken into custody without incident.
Courtemanche was booked into San Luis Obispo County jail for 245(a)(1)PC; assault with deadly weapon, (422(a)PC); criminal threat, 207(a)PC; kidnapping, 368(b)(1)PC; elder abuse, and 591.5PC; damaging communication device to prevent help.
