Jake Thomas Canestrini remains jailed on $300,000 bond as a November jury trial approaches in Sweetwater County.

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. — A 24-year-old man accused of holding his girlfriend inside her parents’ home for days while repeatedly assaulting and threatening her has pleaded not guilty to a series of felony charges and remains jailed while his case moves toward trial.

Jake Thomas Canestrini entered the pleas in Sweetwater County District Court in July after a judge determined at a preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for the case to proceed. Current Sweetwater County jail records list him as a pretrial detainee on $300,000 cash-or-surety bond. His pending charges include kidnapping, three counts of aggravated assault and battery, strangulation of a household member, interference with a peace officer, three counts of domestic battery and cruelty to animals. A jury trial was reported scheduled for Nov. 2. The charges are accusations, and Canestrini is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The criminal case is built largely around an affidavit from Rock Springs Police Officer Tiffany Harris describing what the woman told investigators after she got away. The woman and Canestrini had been in a relationship for about three years and were living at her parents’ home, according to court records reported by Cowboy State Daily. Her parents left town May 30, leaving the couple at the residence. Investigators allege that shortly afterward, Canestrini began throwing the woman to the ground and stopping her when she tried to leave. Harris wrote that Canestrini held her down for hours, struck her in the head and pulled her by the hair when she attempted to get up and run.

The allegations describe more than a single confrontation. Police say the woman repeatedly tried to get away during the following days but was prevented from doing so. On June 2, according to the affidavit, Canestrini called her employer and said she would not be coming to work. The woman told investigators that efforts to resist or escape were followed by additional violence. That allegation is significant to the kidnapping case because prosecutors contend she was being kept at the residence against her will rather than remaining there voluntarily. Authorities have not publicly released the woman’s name, and the available court reporting does not indicate that she has spoken publicly about the case outside her statements to investigators.

Court records describe several kinds of alleged assaults during the period of confinement. The woman told investigators that Canestrini used a razor blade to cut her in several places and a kitchen fork to puncture her back and buttock. During another confrontation, she said, he held a kitchen knife against her throat and threatened to kill her. Police records also describe threats against the woman’s relatives and her cat if law enforcement became involved. One alleged statement warned that he would kill her even if he had to wait years to do so. The threats are described in the affidavit as part of a continuing effort to frighten the woman and prevent her from seeking help.

The woman also reported being strangled several times. According to the court record, she told investigators there were moments when she could not breathe and believed she might die. Medical information cited by investigators said a physician diagnosed her with a concussion after the alleged confinement ended. Officers documented bruising on much of her body, including injuries to her face, arms, shoulders, legs and knees, according to the affidavit. Investigators also photographed cuts and puncture wounds that they believed were consistent with parts of the woman’s account. Those observations became part of the evidence cited in support of the charges, although a jury has not determined whether Canestrini caused the injuries.

Prosecutors also accuse Canestrini of hurting the woman’s cat during the same period. She told investigators that he squeezed the animal, lifted it by the throat and slammed it to the floor while it cried out. When she begged him to stop, the affidavit says, he responded that he could treat the cat however he wanted. The allegation led to the cruelty-to-animals charge now pending in district court. The reported threats against the pet and the woman’s family also appear in the broader account of intimidation that investigators say accompanied the alleged physical attacks and efforts to keep the woman from contacting police.

The woman eventually escaped after waiting until Canestrini fell asleep, according to court reporting. Her departure set in motion the police investigation that produced the current criminal case. Investigators obtained a warrant to search the residence and recovered a kitchen fork, a knife and items they believed contained blood evidence. The affidavit also noted that detectives encountered a strong smell of bleach in a bathroom. Those details have been reported as evidence collected during the investigation, but public reporting has not established what laboratory testing, if any, ultimately found on the seized items. The prosecution’s full evidentiary presentation is expected to be tested in court if the case goes to trial.

Investigators did not arrest Canestrini at the house during the search. Neighbors told police they had seen him leave the area on foot carrying a duffel bag before detectives arrived, according to the affidavit. A detective later saw him riding in a vehicle registered to his father. Police stopped the vehicle, Canestrini identified himself, and he was taken into custody June 16. The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office jail roster currently identifies the Rock Springs Police Department as the arresting agency and lists the district-court charges as pending. An earlier booking report included felonious restraint among the initial allegations, but the current jail roster reflects the charges now listed in district court.

Canestrini made an initial court appearance after his arrest and was held on a six-figure bond. In July, after the case passed through a preliminary hearing, he pleaded not guilty in district court. Cowboy State Daily reported that his attorney, Joseph August Hampton, was asked what formed the basis of the defense and whether Canestrini disputed the allegations in the charging documents. The lawyer did not respond before that report was published. No later public statement from the defense explaining its account of the events was located in the sources reviewed for this story. A not guilty plea requires prosecutors to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt rather than requiring the defendant to prove his innocence.

The most serious accusation is kidnapping. Cowboy State Daily reported that under Wyoming law, the offense can carry a sentence of 20 years to life under circumstances described in the case, with the aggravated assault charges carrying additional potential prison terms if there are convictions. Those possible penalties are not sentences that have been imposed, and they would become relevant only after convictions. The pending counts cover different parts of the alleged conduct, including the claimed restraint, physical assaults, strangulation, resistance involving police and treatment of the animal. Prosecutors will have to establish the elements of each charge separately if the case is presented to a jury.

As of Aug. 26, the Sweetwater County jail roster continues to list Canestrini as a pretrial detainee with the district-court charges pending and bond set at $300,000 cash or surety. The latest court reporting reviewed for this article says a jury trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 2 unless the case is resolved or the schedule changes before then. Canestrini has pleaded not guilty and remains presumed innocent.

Author note: Last updated August 26, 2026.