Suspect in Madera kidnapping and sexual assault pleads not guilty
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The man accused of carjacking, kidnapping, and sexually assaulting a Madera woman last week appeared in court Tuesday.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Otis McKinzy Jr. was wheeled in by deputies. Action News could not record his face, but we can show you his mugshot.
Madera Police say McKinzy attempted to rob a woman in her 50s, then kidnapped her in her own car and sexually assaulted her.
"The survivor had managed to get away from him and run and ask for help," Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno told Action News. "And luckily, you know, in this country, there are still so many good people that she got the help she needed when she was able to get away from him."
The survivor got away, and so did McKinzy. Police arrested him in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove -- more than 130 miles from Madera -- just hours after the attack.
Madera Police say McKinzy was living in his car in the same neighborhood where the victim lived. They say McKinzy approached the victim near Yosemite and L Street and assaulted her with a sharp object last Wednesday.
"It appears to be a complete stranger," Moreno said. "Just someone who was absolutely in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The Madera County District Attorney has now charged McKinzy with carjacking, kidnapping, and rape. He pleaded not guilty to those charges on Tuesday.
It is not McKinzy's first time in court. He is a registered sex offender and served 24 years in prison for carjacking and kidnapping someone else in 1997. He was out on parole when the Madera incident happened last week.
"He has priors for this kind of conduct," Moreno said. "He has a prior conviction that will make all the sentencing on this much more significant."
McKinzy will next be in court on Thursday for a bail review hearing, then again in early April.
If convicted, McKinzy could face up to 200 years to life in prison.
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