6-Ft. 6-Inch Man Locked in BMW Trunk 11 Hours
A Beverly Hills man was locked in the trunk of his BMW for nearly 11 hours and driven about the city by a gunman he caught stealing the car’s stereo, Los Angeles police said.
Greg Sykes, 31, was freed about 1:15 a.m. today after a passer-by heard the 6-foot-6, 200-pound man shouting from inside the trunk of the 1984 trendy German import, which the thief had ditched in Hollywood at Highland and Fountain avenues.
“I barely fit in the trunk,” Sykes told a reporter after his harrowing experience.
Sykes, who had been robbed of his money and watch, suffered minor neck injuries, said Detective Jim Tiampo.
The radio was also stolen.
Sykes’ ordeal began about 2:50 p.m. Thursday when he hopped out of the car at Melrose and Hudson avenues to use a pay telephone. Finding the car unlocked, the gunman got in. When Sykes returned, the thief pulled a handgun and forced him into the trunk.
Sykes told investigators he didn’t have “total recall” of his time in the trunk and believes he fainted for brief periods.
Tiampo said the thief opened the trunk occasionally to allow Sykes fresh air.
“I guess he just wanted the radio,” said Tiampo. “He didn’t want the guy to suffocate and die.”
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