A Waupaca man is accused of hiding in the trunk of his ex-girlfriend’s car, then absconding with her children after the couple had an argument.

Goulet-Garcia

Nicholas R. Goulet-Garcia, 32, Waupaca, is charged with felony child abduction, interfering with the other parent’s custody of a child, disorderly conduct as an act of domestic abuse and criminal damage to property.

He is currently being held in custody on a $5,000 cash bond.

At approximately 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 24, a Waupaca woman called 911 and reported Goulet-Garcia had driven away with her two children, ages 5 and 2, in a burgandy Grand Marquis. She described him as “not right in the head.”

The Waupaca County Communications Center broadcast an alert for Goulet-Garcia, the two girls and the vehicle.

At 6 p.m. that evening, Sgt. Mario Graceffa, with the Waupaca Police Department, located Goulet-Garcia, the girls and the vehicle at the BP station in Waupaca. Goulet-Garcia was taken into custody.

The mother of the two girls told Waupaca Police Officer Diana Flatoff that she and Goulet-Garcia were “on a break” from their relationship, but he still wanted to be in her life, according to the criminal complaint. He had been watching the girls that day while she was at work.

When the mother returned home shortly after 2 p.m., she said she found a bottle of prescriptoin drugs on the floor, the girls running around unsupervised and Goulet-Garcia playing video games. They started arguing about money, responsible behavior and the breakup of their relationship.

According to the criminal complaint, Goulet-Garcia took the woman’s cellphone and found text messages between her and another man.

The woman drove to a friend’s apartment with her two children. She told police that Goulet-Garcia followed them in his car. When she went into her friend’s apartment, he returned to the woman’s apartment.

She left the children with her friend and drove back to her apartment. When she arrived, she found Goulet-Garcia locked in the bathroom. She heard the sound of breaking glass. Goulet-Garcia then came out of the bathroom, his arm cut and bleeding. The vanity mirror had been broken.

The woman called another friend and asked for help in getting Goulet-Garcia to the hospital. By the time the friend arrived, Goulet-Garcia was gone.

The woman then picked up her daughters to take them to her mother’s home. As she was driving on South Western Avenue, she heard a banging sound in the trunk of her car. She pulled over into a parking lot and popped the trunk while remaining in the driver’s seat.

Goulet-Garcia then allegedly climbed out of the trunk and tried to talk to the woman. She could not roll down the driver’s side window, so the woman opened the door to hear what he was saying.

Police say Goulet-Garcia then pushed the woman out of the driver’s seat and took control of the car. She exited the car through the front passenger side door, and Goulet-Garcia drove away with the girls in the back seat, according to the criminal complaint.

The woman told police that Goulet-Garcia is the father of one of the girls, but has no custody rights.

Police reported finding a steak knife under the front seat of the car, which they believe he used to inflict more injuries on himself.