A Castaic woman who allegedly kidnapped a man at gunpoint in August appeared in court on an unrelated charge of driving while having a .08 percent or higher blood alcohol level.

Melissa Bryant, 43, of Castaic, pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was sentenced to a year in Los Angeles County jail, said Ricardo Santiago of the district attorney’s office.

She remains in custody, and is scheduled to appear in San Fernando Superior Court for the alleged kidnapping Nov. 20.

She is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

– Kimberly Beers

From a previous story:

A Castaic woman who allegedly kidnapped a man at gunpoint was charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of assault with a firearm and one count of grand theft with a firearm.

Bryant was arrested by deputies and booked at 2:40 p.m. Aug. 13, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials.

“The Sheriff’s Station deputies received a call at 9:35 a.m. The caller said she had held a male at gunpoint and forced him to drive her to a mobile home community in the Castaic area,” said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “She then exited the victim’s vehicle and ran inside a residence.”

Deputies received a second call saying the suspect was seen with a handgun before entering her home, Dubin said. Deputies interviewed the kidnapping victim and several area residents near the suspect’s home in Lakehills Mobile Estates.

“By talking to friends and family, we learned (Bryant) allegedly suffered from some form of mental illness and had possibly used narcotics recently,” Dubin said.

The reports of mental illness have been unconfirmed by Sheriff’s Station officials, Dubin said.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Crisis Negotiation Team officials surrounded the location and evacuated nearby residents.

Deputies called for the suspect to exit the location, and she refused while reportedly making threats of ending her own life.

After nearly four hours of negotiating, deputies “peacefully” arrested the suspect at 1:40 p.m. after she walked out of her home voluntarily, Dubin said. Deputies discovered and recovered a loaded .357 revolver concealed in the suspect’s rear waistband.

“Our deputies partnered with SEB deputies to ensure a peaceful resolution to this situation,” Dubin said. “We are very, thankful for the way the situation peacefully ended.”