LA MESA : Suspect Is Held in Couples’ Abduction
A 32-year-old man was arrested by San Diego Police at the downtown Amtrak train station after holding two elderly La Mesa residents hostage for several hours early Friday morning, authorities said.
The suspect, identified by La Mesa Police Lt. Al Joslyn as Ernest Woods, was held on suspicion of kidnaping, robbery, burglary and false imprisonment after reportedly confronting a woman acquaintance at her home on Yale Avenue in La Mesa shortly after 1 a.m., forcing her at gunpoint to drive him to a different location to pick up some personal property, then returning to her home and ordering her to remain in the car while he went inside.
She fled and called La Mesa police, who in turn asked the San Diego Police Department’s SWAT team to encircle the house, officials said. They arrived at 4 a.m., police said, and, by 7 a.m., after trying unsuccessfully to talk to Woods, stormed the house--only to find Woods gone.
The two elderly hostages were found in good condition except for scrapes caused by being tied up, police said.
The follow-up investigation led San Diego police to search both the downtown San Diego Greyhound bus station and the Amtrak station, where they confronted Woods at a pay telephone, authorities said.
Woods reached for a bag but was stopped by police, who found a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol inside it, Joslyn said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
