3 Suspects in Kidnap Caught on Olvera St. : Crime: Victim escaped after three men who approached sister carrying ransom were arrested in popular tourist spot. A fourth man was captured later at another location.

Three of four suspected kidnapers were arrested on Olvera Street, one of Los Angeles’ popular tourist spots, when they tried to collect a $100,000 ransom from the sister of a man they had abducted and kept for two days, police said Saturday.

The four apparently had abducted Roberto Paz, 26, from his South Westmoreland Avenue apartment Wednesday and called Paz’s sister later that day to say they would kill him if they did not receive the ransom, Police Lt. Steve Coker said. Paz’s sister, Ana Ponce, called police.

At about noon Friday, officers from the Police Department’s Special Investigations Section and detectives followed Ponce and arrested three of the suspects who had come to collect the ransom, Coker said. The men were apprehended after they approached Ponce at a drop-off point on Olvera Street, which is usually crowded with tourists, Coker said.

No shots were fired and the three men were arrested without incident, Coker said. A fourth suspect later was arrested as he left a motel in the 1600 block of West 3rd Street. Police found Paz walking around in an area near the corner of 3rd and Alvarado streets, Coker said.

“Roberto was emotionally stressed, but he suffered no physical injury,” Coker said. He said Paz had escaped, probably sometime just before the fourth suspect was captured, by crawling through a bathroom window at the motel.

Ponce had noticed her brother was missing on Wednesday when she went to his apartment and found the door ajar and his car missing. An unidentified man later called her at her home to tell her that Paz had been kidnaped and directed her to bring the $100,000 to a drop spot, police said.

“She was delivering the ransom as described by the kidnapers, when surveilling officers were able to spot who they thought were the most likely suspects,” Police Cmdr. William Booth said Saturday. Booth said the officers were told to look for men who tapped Ponce on the shoulder and then stood next to her.

Police would release no additional details about the kidnaping and would not say whether the suspects knew Paz. “Why him, and why the amount, is still under investigation,” Booth said.

Police identified the men who were arrested as Octavio Nunez Ayala, 22; Osiel Antonio Candelario, 32; Eduardo Lopez, 33, and Oscar Armando Morales, 18. No hometown for the suspects was released. They were booked on charges of kidnaping for the purpose of ransom and held on $100,000 bail each.