MURRIETA - A Hemet man accused of severely beating his girlfriend and speeding down a roadway with her hanging out of his car was charged today with kidnapping and other felonies.

Angel Isaiah Hernandez, 26, was scheduled to make his initial court appearance this afternoon on the kidnapping count, as well as mayhem and domestic assault charges, with sentence-enhancing great bodily injury and weapons allegations.

The defendant was arrested Tuesday at his home in the 700 block of Vista De Loma Drive and booked at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, with bail set at $1 million.

According to Hemet police Lt. Duane Wisehart, Hernandez and his girlfriend, whose identity was not released, got into an argument as they sat parked outside his residence last Friday night.

Hernandez "violently" assaulted the woman and Advertisement

[ The Tutoring Center ] threw the car into gear, "driving the vehicle with the victim partially hanging out of it," the lieutenant alleged. "The suspect stopped and put the victim in the vehicle and drove out of the city, repeatedly threatening to kill her."

When Hernandez stopped to put gas in his car, she jumped behind the driver's seat and sped away, going to the nearest hospital for treatment, according to Wisehart.

He said the woman is continuing to receive treatment for "serious injuries" from which it may take months to recover.

Police officers attempted to locate Hernandez several times without success over the weekend, but located him Tuesday, at which point he surrendered to detectives without incident, Wisehart said.

According to court records, the defendant has multiple traffic-related convictions, including for driving on a suspended license.