Gang Abducts Woman, Takes Van at Border
Fourteen to 15 men jumped an El Monte couple returning from Tijuana Tuesday night, pistol-whipped the woman and stole the couple’s van with her inside, police said.
San Diego Police Officer Kevin Means said the men fled north on Interstate 5 or Interstate 805 after the 8:30 p.m. attack.
“At least one had a gun,” Means said. “It appears that he was the smuggler of the group. He seemed to be in charge.”
Antonio Medina, 39, and his wife, Patricia Volos, 24, had just started the engine of their van, which was parked on a bridge spanning the freeway just north of the border, when a man broke the window on the passenger’s side, Medina told police. The attacker pistol-whipped Volos, knocking her unconscious, he said.
Medina escaped and ran to a nearby San Diego police substation for help.
“He saw the man with the gun loading the others into the van,” Means said. Medina said the men were all Latinos and he believed they were being chased by the Border Patrol.
The men headed north on the freeway, which splits into I-5 and I-805 less than a mile from the bridge.
Means said the California Highway Patrol was notified, but the van had not been found late Tuesday night.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
