Local News in Brief : Man Pleads Guilty in Car Assault Case
A retired airline pilot who drove through the streets of Torrance and onto the San Diego Freeway with his wife clinging to the hood of his car pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of child endangerment.
Russell A. Jobst, 44, will face up to six years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 13 in Torrance Superior Court.
Jobst and his wife, Madonna Jobst-Kennedy, were getting a divorce and fighting for custody of their 20-month-old son in August, 1987, when he came to her house in Torrance and took the boy. Authorities say Jobst planned to take the child to his home in Hawaii, but before he could drive off, Jobst-Kennedy jumped onto the hood of his car.
During a wild 30-minute ride, police said, Jobst drove at up to 80 m.p.h., swerved, slammed on his brakes and tried to impale his wife on a cactus. Jobst-Kennedy and the boy suffered only minor injuries.
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