1 Arrested, 1 Sought in Van Nuys Kidnaping

Police arrested one man and were looking for another in connection with the kidnaping and pistol-whipping of a Van Nuys man after a drug deal apparently went sour, authorities said Tuesday.

A Kern County sheriff’s deputy found the victim, John McGuigan, 25, bound and bleeding on the Tejon Ranch about 45 miles south of Bakersfield about 12:30 p.m. Monday, Senior Deputy Richard Dixon said.

McGuigan had been kidnaped Sunday night in Van Nuys, beaten with a handgun, tied up and placed in the trunk of a car by two men, Dixon said. Los Angeles police had been investigating McGuigan’s disappearance based on information from relatives who said they believed he might have been killed, authorities said.

The Kern County sheriff’s deputy found the victim lying in a field after he went to investigate a car that was parked alongside I-5, Dixon said. Victor Balanos-Cazares, 24, of Van Nuys, was arrested after he fled from the scene on foot and tried to buy a shirt and some shoes from area residents, Dixon said. The second man, identified as Jose Ledesma, 23, also of Van Nuys, was still at large Tuesday.

Balanos-Cazares had been guarding McGuigan since about 8 a.m., when a tire on the men’s car went flat on their flight north, Dixon said. He threw a gun away as he ran from authorities, police said.

“Apparently, it was a dope deal that went bad,” Dixon said. He would not elaborate.

McGuigan was treated and released at Kern County Medical Center in Bakersfield.

Kern County sheriff’s deputies have turned the investigation over to Los Angeles police, who are searching for Ledesma, authorities said.