Man robs four, makes kidnap victim drive during pursuit, police say

A 24-year-old man was arrested early Thursday after allegedly robbing two couples at gunpoint in East L.A. then kidnapping one of his victims and forcing her to drive him during a police chase into San Bernardino County.

The man, who police have not identified, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and armed robbery.

The chain of events began about 1 a.m. in Hollenbeck Park in Boyle Heights where two couples were hanging out, said Capt. Gary Lopez of the LAPD Hollenbeck Division. A man with a pistol forced one of the couples into their car and made them drive him to a 7-Eleven, where he robbed them and then ordered them to summon the second pair.

Once the second couple arrived at the convenience store, the man robbed them too, Lopez said.

He then made one of the women drive him away, Lopez said. The three victims left at the store then reported the robberies to police and told them that one of their friends had been kidnapped, Lopez said.

When the man forced the woman to call her friends and demand a ransom, police traced the call and found them on the road, Lopez said. Police chased the car to Fontana, where the suspect eventually surrendered without incident.

The female driver was “still in shock” from the experience but otherwise unharmed, Lopez said. Authorities are also investigating what the victims were doing in the park in the middle of the night.

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