2 Arizona Teen-Agers Accused in Kidnap of La Canada Woman

Criminal charges were filed this week against two Arizona men suspected of kidnaping, stabbing and severely beating an elderly La Canada Flintridge woman last month, a prosecutor in the case said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed kidnaping, robbery and attempted murder charges Monday against Paul E. Terry, 19, and Randall J. Countryman, 18, for the beating and stabbing of Eloise Purdy, 77, who survived the attack, said Deputy Dist. Atty. John Bernardi.

The men were arrested by the Arizona Highway Patrol for possession of a stolen vehicle while driving Purdy’s car in Arizona last month.

However, theft charges filed against them by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office near Phoenix were dropped last Thursday for lack of sufficient evidence, allowing Countryman to go free, said Kim Stuart, a deputy county attorney familiar with the case.

Terry is being held in Maricopa County Jail on unrelated charges, said a jail supervisor.

Terry is now serving a 30-day sentence for failing to pay a fine for a criminal-trespass conviction, Lehman said. He also was sought by authorities for a probation violation involving a prior forgery conviction and for failing to pay a fine for a second criminal-trespass conviction, she said.

Glendale police now are seeking to extradite Terry, Bernardi said.

Purdy was abducted July 8 from a Glendale Federal bank parking lot in Montrose. She was taken to an Indio palm orchard, stabbed in the chest and beaten with tree branches during the attack.

Both men face a maximum sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole, he said.