WEST OCEAN CITY -- A California man was arrested on assault and false imprisonment charges last weekend after allegedly beating his girlfriend and holding her against her will for hours at the Park-and-Ride in West Ocean City.

Around 12:30 a.m. last Saturday, a Worcester County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling in the Park-and-Ride facility in West Ocean City and observed a black Ford Explorer parked alone in the center of the facility. Upon closer inspection, the deputy observed the knee of an individual in the vehicle’s passenger seat, which was reclined all the way back. The deputy moved closer to investigate because individuals are not supposed to sleep in vehicles in the Park-and-Ride.

The deputy moved closer and caught sight of a female passenger in the rear of the vehicle who mouthed the words “help me” to the officer. According to police reports, the female was visibly upset and it was obvious she had been crying. The deputy was able to separate the female passenger from the front seat occupant, later identified as Carl Anthony Pattelli, 30, of Buena Park, Calif.

The investigation revealed Pattelli was the female’s boyfriend and the couple had been living in the vehicle for several days. When an argument started earlier that evening, Patelli allegedly beat the female victim and held her against her will for over two hours. The victim told police she attempted to get out of the vehicle on multiple occasions during the ordeal, but each time Patelli stopped her and assaulted her further.

The victim told police she finally gave up for fear of being beaten up further and being hurt worse. According to police reports, the victim had visible injuries to her head, mouth and throat area, injuries which corroborated her account of the ordeal. Pattelli was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and false imprisonment. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was ordered to be held on a $5,000 bond. Following a bond review on Monday, Pattelli was ordered to be held in the Worcester County Jail and remained incarcerated as of mid-week.