Carjacker Sentenced for Abduction of Woman, Girl
A San Pedro man who abducted a county social worker and her teenage ward was sentenced Monday to 121 years to life in prison, authorities said.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Garner sentenced Troy Lee Mendenhall, 34, two months after his conviction on two counts of kidnapping and one count of kidnapping for carjacking, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
Mendenhall was arrested in January after a high-speed chase with police on the Harbor Freeway after he kidnapped social worker Lucie Whitecomb, 43, and a 14-year-old girl. The victims had been carjacked by Mendenhall as they drove away from the girl’s foster home in Long Beach.
Whitecomb was stabbed, tied, gagged and dropped off in Wilmington before Mendenhall continued with the girl, said prosecutor Vivian Davidson. Despite her ordeal, Whitecomb did not suffer any major injuries, Davidson said. The girl was not injured.
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