Local News in Brief : Reiner Case Suspect Held
A third man who was linked to the kidnaping of Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner’s bodyguard and the theft of Reiner’s car while the vehicle was parked outside the upscale Spago restaurant last June was captured by Montebello police Thursday, authorities said.
Jose Luis Escarcega, 34, aroused the interest of an officer when he “walked and acted suspiciously as he walked across the street” on Whittier Boulevard, police said.
Investigators declined to expand on what the suspicious behavior was, but when they checked Escarcega’s record they found a warrant for his arrest on auto theft and kidnaping charges in the Reiner case.
Two other men have been arrested in the case. One is in state prison. The other jumped $30,000 bail before trial, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Hal Grant said.
Deputies said that Escarcega fled into Mexico after the Reiner incident and apparently only returned recently. He was being held at the West Hollywood sheriff’s station in lieu of $30,000 bail.
The bodyguard escaped unharmed when the bandits stopped the car shortly after the theft.
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