ALBANY — It started with a report of a woman screaming on a dispatch line with police.
When East Bay Regional Parks police officers showed up to the Albany Bulb, there she was — hurt and “hysterical” and running toward the officers, while a nearby 44-year-old man “retreated” to his 2010 Mercedes GLK350, investigators wrote in their report.
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The man, identified as Marcus Bryant, of San Francisco, claimed the woman was jealous because they’d been dating and she’d discovered he’d been talking to other women. But police say his story quickly unraveled, and now Bryant is in jail facing charges of kidnapping the victim and forcibly driving her for nearly a half-hour to the Albany Bulb on the shore of San Francisco Bay “with intent to commit rape,” according to court records.
Bryant, who is being held at Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say the woman described a horrifying ordeal.
She reportedly told police that she’d previously dated Bryant. On the evening of March 27, he showed up to her home in a Bay Area city — this newspaper isn’t identifying her area of residence to protect her identity — and allegedly banged on the windows until she agreed to meet him outside, the woman told police.
After she got into his Mercedes, Bryant allegedly climbed on top of her, and when she resisted, he allegedly told her she “wasn’t going anywhere” and started the engine. At times, the car was going too fast for her to safely exit, and at other times, Bryant repeatedly locked the door to prevent her escape, authorities said.
They allegedly drove along the shoreline, through Emeryville and Berkeley, until arriving at the Albany Bulb, where police say he attempted to sexually assault her again. When she fought with him, he allegedly put a blanket over her face and suffocated her, nearly causing her to lose consciousness. The woman says Bryant then took her phone and left the car to check the air pressure, giving her a chance to escape.
Police say the woman had scratches on her arm, which corroborated her statement. Bryant was arrested and on April 1, and prosecutors charged him with kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a sex crime, sexual assault, domestic violence and damaging a witness’ cellphone, court records show.
Bryant is next due in court on May 16, for a pretrial hearing, according to court records.
