S. Tahoe man indicted in Vallejo kidnapping

A South Lake Tahoe man was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Vallejo kidnapping case that police officers there once called a hoax.

Matthew D. Muller, 38, faces one count of kidnapping.

Matthew Muller

Last month Muller pleaded no contest to charges stemming from an unrelated Dublin home invasion. He faces 11 years in prison for that crime.

According to court documents, Muller on March 23 broke into a residence in Vallejo, restrained the male occupant and kidnapped the female occupant. He allegedly demanded $15,000 in ransom, and kept the woman for two days before releasing her in Huntington Beach.

“The bizarre circumstances of the events in Vallejo in March complicated the investigation of this matter,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said Oct. 1 in a statement. “But the Vallejo Police Department, the FBI, and our law enforcement allies in Alameda County have done excellent work in recent months to bring this investigation to a conclusion.”

Muller is being held in the Sacramento County Jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 5.

If convicted, Muller could face life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report