Man Accused of Stealing Van, Kidnapping Child Is Arrested

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrested a Lancaster man Thursday whom they say kidnapped his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son after the couple argued about a van he stole.

Steven Lewis Maher, 25, is being held on $50,000 bail in Costa Mesa City Jail on suspicion of kidnapping and auto theft.

Maher and Andrea Gannon, 22, also of Lancaster, had been visiting a relative of Gannon’s Wednesday afternoon in the 500 block of Paularino Avenue in Costa Mesa when Maher revealed he had stolen the blue Ford van they were driving, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ron Smith said.

The couple began arguing, and Maher grabbed the boy and took off, according to Smith.

As Maher ran out, Gannon stabbed him several times in the back with a 12-inch kitchen knife, Smith said. He was not seriously injured, and he escaped with the toddler in the van. Maher returned to his home in Lancaster, where he was arrested early Thursday.

Gannon will not be charged for the stabbing, Smith said, but she was being held at Orange County Central Women’s Jail in Santa Ana on Thursday on $20,000 bail for failure to appear on a commercial burglary charge and a traffic violation.

The child was unharmed, Smith said, and was staying with relatives in the Lancaster area.