After Chase, Man Held in Kidnapping

An Ontario man was being held on suspicion of kidnapping Saturday after he allegedly snatched a 9-year-old girl off a La Mirada street, blindfolded her and took her on a harrowing 30-minute drive that ended in Orange County, authorities said.

William Thomas, 45, was taken into custody late Friday after leading La Habra police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on a chase through north Orange County. Thomas was captured when his car blew a tire as he drove over a traffic divider and tried to run from police.

The incident began about 8 p.m. in La Mirada, near the intersection of Singleton and Weeks drives, authorities said.

A large group of adults and children were outside their homes when some noticed a man in a white compact car driving back and forth. Then the driver stopped, grabbed the girl and pulled her into the car. Neighbors immediately called the Sheriff’s Department.

The girl later told police that the driver blindfolded her with a bandanna and that she pleaded with him to release her as he drove around for 30 minutes. Eventually, the man pulled into a La Habra liquor store at the corner of Lambert Road and Beach Boulevard and let the girl go.

“The girl went into the store, and someone let her use a cell phone to call home,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Thompson said.

Outside the store, the suspect reportedly pulled into traffic from a back alley, attracting the attention of a La Habra police officer. Although the officer was unaware of the reported kidnapping, he thought the driver had committed a moving violation and tried to make a traffic stop.

Thomas, however, sped away, police said. A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy cruising in the area heard the description of the car and joined the chase. The pursuit ended with the flat tire at the Brea intersection of West Lambert Road and South Puente Street.

Authorities said Thomas ran a short distance and then became aggressive with police, who doused him with pepper spray. The girl, who was not physically harmed, was brought to the scene and identified the man as her abductor.

On Saturday, the Sheriff’s Department said that investigators did not know why the girl was taken and that Thomas denied abducting her. Thomas was being held without bail at the jail ward of Los Angeles County USC Medical Center on parole violations.