2 Men Jailed on Suspicion of Kidnapping 3 Women

Two men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of posing as police officers and kidnapping three women after they had left a bar in Fullerton, police said.

Thomas Collins, 25, of Orange, and Lance Mills, 27, of Brea, were being held at the Fullerton City Jail. Collins faces an additional charge of drunk driving, authorities said.

None of the women, whose names were withheld by police, were hurt.

“It’s really bizarre,” Fullerton Police Sgt. Ron Gillett said. “We’re unclear of the motives, but it’s under investigation.”

The men followed the three women -- ages 22, 24 and 26 -- as they were leaving the Back Alley Bar & Grill on Wilshire Avenue at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, Gillett said. The women were intoxicated and had called a friend to pick them up, he said.

After the women got into their friend’s car, the suspects followed them, flashed a badge and identification card and ordered them to stop, Gillett said.

The friend stopped the car in front of his home and ran inside to call police. By the time he returned, the men had ordered the women into the backseat of their sports utility vehicle and sped away.

The friend followed for several miles but lost track of the vehicle. An officer spotted the SUV near Placentia Avenue and Yorba Linda Boulevard, where the men were arrested without a struggle, police said.

Police said the silver badge and an identification card belonged to Collins, who worked as a contract code enforcement officer in Desert Hot Springs.

It is uncommon for an unmarked patrol car to pull over motorists, Gillett said.