Mount Pleasant man charged with rape, kidnapping of local woman
A 46-year-old Chippewa Township man has been charged with raping, kidnapping and assaulting a local woman Saturday night.
Gary Steven Wright was arraigned Monday afternoon for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Wright could face up to two life sentences for the criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges alone and up to $57,000 in fines.
The assault occurred at approximately 12:43 a.m. Saturday, said Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski.
The 38-year-old victim, a Mount Pleasant resident, was at a local bar with friends when she noticed Wright, whom she did not know, looking at her several times.
She went outside to smoke as a courtesy to her friends, Mioduszewski said, and Wright followed her out and began chatting with her.
After a while, he walked over to a pick-up truck and asked her help him find his keys.
The victim obliged and after a few minutes, Wright asked her have a seat in his truck to talk to him.
"She got in, an the next thing she knows he was in the front seat and took off with her," Mioduszewksi said. "He said, 'You are going to go where I am going to go. If you try to put up a fight, I'll kill you and bury you in my backyard.'"
Wright then drove back to his residence, he said, and removed the victim from his truck at knifepoint.
The suspect ordered the victim into his house, although she did not know where she was, and ordered her to take off her clothes.
She was raped and escaped by saying she needed to take medicine that was in her pants in another room, he said.
"He said 'ok' and the victim grabbed her pants and went out the door," Mioduszewski said.
The victim ran to neighboring houses, and the third house down answered and let her in.
Deputies responded to the call, and from the description of the man and vehicle, went into his residence and arrested him.
The deputies also obtained search warrants for the house and his truck to collect evidence and found a collection of firearms.
"He is a convicted felon, it is illegal for him to have firearms," Mioduszewski said.
According to Michigan Department of Corrections records, Wright was convicted of two second-degree home invasions in March 2003 for a November 2002 home invasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released in May 2007.
Wright remains lodged in the Isabella County Jail with a $250,000 bond.
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