A husband and wife were in custody Friday charged with kidnapping, robbery and assault -- and the victims were their own family in Westminster.
Michelle Rodriguez, 30, and her husband 26-year old Michael Rodriguez were arrested early Thursday morning. According to Michelle’s mother, the couple broke into her home looking for cash.
"She was pleading for her life," Lucy Tran said, interpreting for her 49-year old mother Dan Vo.
She still had stitches she received from a pistol whipping allegedly at the hands of her son-in-law.
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"Hit her in the teeth, the jaw, he was manhandling the hell out of my mom," Tran said.
Wednesday afternoon, the couple barged into the Westminster apartment, and according to those who were inside, began ransacking the home.
"Looking for money in the walls. He was coming up with all these delusions in his head," Tran said.
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But it didn’t end there. That night police say the couple kidnapped the entire family forcing them into this U-Haul; including Vo, her 22-year old daughter Lucy, her boyfriend Ronnie and another 14-year old sister and then drove them to the La Quinta Inn about seven miles away.
"[He had an] AK 47 in the back of the U-Haul, and he was pointing it at us the entire ride as he was drinking and smoking his cigarettes. We were terrorized the whole entire ride until we got to the hotel," she said.
Police say the couple also brought their 6-month-old baby boy.
Hours later the adults escaped from the hotel and called for help.
Commander Kevin MacCormack with Westminster police says the motive was money.
The couple was arrested near Goldenwest and Westminster. Inside the rented van, police found an AK 47 style rifle and a handgun. They say both were loaded.
The family still emotionally recovering.
"He’s just bad news," Tran said.
Even now, Dan Vo doesn’t want to believe her daughter acted on her own.
"She never truly believed her daughter would do any of this but she says it has a lot to do with the fact she’s with somebody who’s influencing her to do such things," the family said.
Lucy Tran feels very differently about her sister.
"I think my sister is accountable for her actions. Nobody put drugs in her to make her do all of his chaos. She put this on herself and her family," she said.
The couple is also facing a charge of child endangerment because their son could have been harmed. Michael Rodriguez being held on $1 million bail. His wife has a bail set at $100,000.
