Local Man Accused of Threatening to Kill Girlfriend, Kids During Drive in Mendocino

A San Rafael man who allegedly threatened to kill his girlfriend and her two children during a drive through Mendocino County last month had a court date there Wednesday, a Mendocino County sheriff's captain said.

Ryan Thomas Corbett, 34, was arrested in the San Rafael area in the early hours of July 16 on suspicion of domestic violence and assault on his girlfriend and false imprisonment of her two children, who were in a car with the couple the night before near the Garberville area, Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said.

Other charges against Corbett include inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, corporal injury upon a child, dissuading a witness and forcibly kidnapping or instilling fear, according to sheriff's officials.

In Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah Corbett's preliminary hearing date was scheduled to be arranged, according to the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.

He was arraigned on July 24, Smallcomb said. 

Corbett had been driving with his family members up U.S. Highway 101 when for some reason he became angry with his girlfriend and kids and allegedly told them he was going to drive them over a cliff and started driving erratically, Smallcomb said.

He stopped at the edge of the road near Leggett when the children decided to jump out of the vehicle, the sheriff's captain said.

According to Smallcomb, Corbett then began pulling his three passengers' belongings out of the vehicle and told them he was going to leave them on the side of the road.

He then started physically fighting with his girlfriend and allegedly threatened to burn her house down and kill her, Smallcomb said.

The girlfriend and two children at this point took off running and were able to call law enforcement, who were then on the lookout for Corbett who had driven away from the Leggett area.

Mendocino County sheriff's officials responded to the girlfriend and two children, who had suffered minor injuries in the incident, Smallcomb said.

Corbett was found in the San Rafael area where he was arrested and brought to the Mendocino County Jail and booked at 12:39 a.m. on $100,000 bail, Smallcomb said.

Bay City News Service