Peralta appears in Morrow County Circuit Court

HEPPNER – The man facing numerous felony charges including two counts of first-degree kidnapping was present for his arraignment yesterday (Thursday) after not attending one scheduled for the day before. Jacob Alfredo Peralta, 19, had his bail set at $500,000 at the request of Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson.

The incident began on Tuesday evening when it is alleged that Peralta held two women known to him at gunpoint in Umatilla. He then reportedly forced them to drive him to a residence in Irrigon where one of the victims lives. Peralta allegedly fired a gun striking the windshield of the vehicle.

After the owner of the home left the premises when he heard Peralta breaking in, the suspect was alone in the house. Court records indicate that he told officers from the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office and Boardman Police Department that if they approached him, he would either shoot them or take his own life.

Eventually, Peralta agreed to exit the house and was taken into custody without incident. He was treated for injuries that law enforcement states were not related to the incident and then booked into Umatilla County Jail.

The charges against him in addition to kidnapping are two counts of felony coercion, one count of a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of misdemeanor menacing, two counts of felony unlawful use of a weapon, one count of first-degree felony burglary, and one count of first-degree felony robbery. The kidnapping and robbery charges are Measure 11 crimes which come with mandatory sentences if the defendant is found guilty.

File photo of the Morrow County Courthouse

---

• 
• 
• 
• 

---

• 
• 
• 
• 

---

Elkhorn Media Group