The man who attacked and kidnapped his girlfriend from a Morgan Hill bar pleaded guilty to two felonies and will be sentenced to four years in state prison, authorities said.
Christopher Franco, 21 of Morgan Hill, will be formally sentenced at South County Courthouse Dec. 10, according to South Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Steve Lowney.
He recently pleaded guilty to domestic violence and false imprisonment in relation to the incident that occurred at the M & H Tavern in January, Lowney said.
According to police and witnesses, Franco entered the bar at 17365 Monterey Road late at night Jan. 22 and approached a female customer who was sitting at a table with a group of other customers.
Franco grabbed the woman by the neck and dragged her outside through the bar’s rear door, police said. Once they were outside, Franco punched the woman in the face and pulled her into a vehicle that was waiting for him.
The vehicle fled the scene, and officers who arrived at the scene after the incident were able to get a description of the suspect and the name of the victim, who left her ID card at the bar, police said.
That information led police to a Morgan Hill residence where they found the suspect and the victim, who were in a dating relationship at the time of the attack.
The victim was unconscious in a bedroom, bleeding from her nose, police said. She was transported to an area hospital by ambulance and treated for a broken nose.
The suspect was later identified by witnesses, police said.
Franco is a validated Norteño street gang member, and has been arrested on suspicion of previous unrelated incidents of trespassing, vandalism, petty theft and a probation violation, according to Morgan Hill police.
