Girl Rescued; Kidnaping Suspect Slain

A kidnaped 4-year-old Hollywood girl suffering from chicken pox was rescued unharmed early today, and her abductor was shot and killed by Los Angeles police after he tried to run over officers with his car, authorities said.

Bar-Levav Erez, 24, a Van Nuys resident from Israel, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting near the intersection of Sherman Way and Bellaire Avenue in North Hollywood, Lt. Charles Higbee said.

The kidnaped girl, Deanna Jin, who had been locked alone in Erez’s apartment since her abduction Wednesday morning, was returned to her parents in “satisfactory condition” about three hours after the 12:30 a.m. shooting, although “she still had a lot of spots” from her chicken pox, Higbee said.

‘I Was Almost Crazy’

Hours after getting her daughter back, the child’s mother, Kum O. Jin, said: “Last night, I was almost crazy. Now I’m still so sick about what had happened. I looked at all the pictures of the little boys and girls who get stolen and never come home.”

Erez, who works in the garment industry, had kidnaped the girl from her parents’ home in the 8100 block of Tianna Road Wednesday after enticing her by giving her a piece of jewelry, Higbee said. The girl had opened the door for Erez after he arrived at the house posing as an assessor or real estate appraiser, he said.

Soon after locking the youngster in his apartment in the 7000 block of Woodman Avenue, Erez telephoned the Korean-born parents, Kum and Jun C. Jin, threatening to harm the girl unless he received a large amount of money, Higbee said. He refused to disclose the amount of the ransom demanded.

After being notified of Erez’s instructions for the delivery of the ransom by the Jins, police assigned an undercover detective disguised as Jun C. Jin to telephone Erez from a Studio City phone booth at a predetermined time. Erez told the officer to drive to another location, and later drove by the officer en route to that location in an attempt to give him further instructions, police said.

Suspect Sped Away

As Erez and the officer talked, police surveillance cars that had been following the officer attempted to move in on Erez, Higbee said. Erez noticed the approaching units and sped away, followed by police.

During the short chase that reached speeds of 65 m.p.h., Erez ran a red light at the intersection of Sherman Way and Bellaire Avenue and collided with a pickup truck, Higbee said. Erez, he said, then tried to drive away after making a U-turn but collided with a pursuing police car, which forced him into a metal fence.

When Erez attempted to run over Officers David Harrison and Gary Strickland, the officers fired a total of 10 shots, fatally wounding him, Higbee said.