Kidnaping, Theft Suspect Arrested
Police in Orange County arrested a Texas parolee, who was riding in a rented chauffeur-driven limousine, on suspicion of kidnaping a secretary and stealing gold from her dental company’s safe, police said Tuesday. Authorities also recovered about $250,000 worth of gold.
Gerald Michael Stafford, 30, of Anaheim was arrested on Monday when the limo stopped in the 11600 block of Stanford Street in Garden Grove. Investigators, acting on a tip, had been staking out the area, Placentia police said.
A second suspect escaped. Stafford told police he was Bret Allen Langford, 18, of Garden Grove, a former shipping clerk at the dental company.
Police said they recovered most of the gold, which was stolen from Degussa Dental Inc.
On Sunday afternoon, two armed men kidnaped a 31-year-old Huntington Beach secretary and drove her to the company in Placentia. After forcing her to open the safe, they tied her up. The woman freed herself and called police.
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