Lake County man accused of holding woman against her will busted with meth-making materials

A 52-year-old Madison Township man faces multiple charges after investigators say that he held a woman in a van and against her will and that he planned to make crystal meth.

Robert Rondini is being held at Lake County Jail on $12,500 bond, jail records show.

He pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from the Sunday incident.

The 39-year-old woman told investigators that she was helping Rondini, an acquaintance, load tires into his van, Madison Township Police Chief Matthew Byers said. Rondini told her to get in the van.

When she refused, Rondini attacked her and forced her into the back of the van, Byers said.

The woman used her cellphone to call 911 from the back of the van. She told a dispatcher she was being held hostage and described the van.

Police stopped Rondini at the intersection of Chapel and Green Roads near the Madison Country Club. Officers found the woman in the van and took Rondini into custody.

The woman gave investigators a video of Rondini that she captured on her cellphone from the back of the van, Byers said. The footage showed Rondini throwing several items out the window shortly before police stopped him.

Investigators later found pseudoephedrine pills, plastic containers and various chemicals used to make crystal meth on the side of the road, police said.

Rondini faces charges of unlawful restraint, assault, tampering with evidence and possessing chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.

His next court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 8 in Painesville Municipal Court.

Rondini was arrested in November in connection with the illegal manufacture of drugs, court records show. The charges were later dismissed.

Published by the Cleveland Plain Dealer