Police Hunt for Woman, 25, Kidnapped by 4 Robbers

A 25-year-old woman abducted at gunpoint by four men who broke into her motel room and tied up her boyfriend Saturday night remained unaccounted for Sunday, authorities said.

Reanna Stoddard of Lancaster was taken about 11 p.m. Saturday, when the suspects forced their way into her room at the E-Z 8 Motel in the 43500 block of 17th Street West, said Deputy Donald Rubio of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The robbers stole the wallet of Stoddard’s boyfriend, Joe Paesano, 40, and kidnapped her to ensure Paesano gave them the correct personal identification number for his ATM card, Rubio said.

Paesano told detectives one of the men held a gun to his head, demanding his money, credit card and car keys.

They tied him up with twine and duct tape, and taped a motel towel over his head, Rubio said.

Paesano managed to free himself about an hour later and call police. Paesano told deputies the men were strangers, Rubio said.

The four suspects, identified only as white males, drove away in Paesano’s car, a beige, 1992 four-door Buick Park Avenue, Rubio said. The Buick has California license plate number 3CAF026.

Sunday night, investigators found money-machine receipts from Paesano’s bank account in a trash can at a nearby Albertsons supermarket on the corner of 10th Street West and Palmdale Boulevard.

Next to the receipts, they also found the keys and registration for Paesano’s car, Rubio said.

“It looks like they abandoned the vehicle. We’re searching for it now,” Rubio said.