The Alternative Press

PATERSON, NJ – A reputed Latin Kings member pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges that he kept his girlfriend locked in the bedroom of their Paterson apartment, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Detectives found the woman when they executed a search warrant at the home of Michael Mendez, 42, during a drug investigation last August, according to a press release issued by Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.

Mendez pleaded guilty to third-degree charges of criminal restraint and possession of marijuana and prescription pills with intent to distribute them within 1,000 feet of a school, the press release said.  Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Mendez be sentenced to five years in state prison, including 18 months of parole ineligibility.

The charges stem from an investigation by the New Jersey State Police in which detectives raiding Mendez’ apartment on Alois Place found 150 prescription anti-anxiety and pain pills (alprazolam and hydrocodone) for which he had no prescription, nearly seven ounces of marijuana, and more than $22,000 in cash, according to Chiesa.

The press release said detectives also found Mendez’s girlfriend inside a bedroom with the door padlocked on the outside so that she could not leave. Authorities say they determined that the woman had been locked in the bedroom for extended periods of time over the prior two years.