Kidnapings Orange County

What started out as the brazen kidnapping of a Santa Ana contractor known to carry large sums of cash ended with a wild police pursuit through Long Beach in which one of the suspects, a 14-year-old gang member, fired dozens of shots at officers using an AK-47 rifle, authorities said Thursday. The two alleged kidnappers were arrested and the victim was found unharmed--but only after daylong negotiations and what police described as unbelievable good fortune.

A 16-year-old Los Angeles gang member who kidnapped an Orange County businessman and fired at police during a chase was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole. Antonio Nunez was sentenced to four life terms, one life term without parole and 111 years for charges that included kidnapping, attempted murder of a police officer and street terrorism.

Until this week, all that jurors in the murder trial of Cynthia Lynn Coffman knew of her 19-year-old victim were the bare facts: Lynel Murray was kidnaped from work, robbed, raped, then choked to death, her body left in a bathtub of a motel room. Wednesday, over the vehement objection of Coffman's attorney, the Superior Court jury heard Lynel Murray's family reminisce about a young woman who they said was vibrant and loving and whose violent death left an irreparable void in their lives.

A burglary suspect being driven to jail Saturday broke a window in a moving police car, leaped onto the Costa Mesa Freeway, lost his pants and kidnapped three women before being arrested again. No one was injured in the wild escape attempt, and by evening, Abraham Josh Derian, 25, of Montebello, was in the Orange County Jail. "He was desperate," said Newport Beach Police Lt. Mike Jackson. Police initially arrested Derian at 3:30 a.m.

The last time Louis Zaharias saw his two smiling children was Nov. 20, 1987. The night before, he and his wife had argued. But he recalled how he hugged and kissed young Christopher Zaharias good night. The boy was only 3. Zaharias then kissed his 15-month-old daughter Lisa. "I woke up early the next morning because I had to go to work, so I didn't see them," Zaharias said in a telephone interview from his Arizona home Thursday. "I came home that night and they were gone."

An Orange County Superior Court jury decided Monday that Richard Lucio DeHoyos was sane when he sexually assaulted and murdered a 9-year-old girl, setting the final stage to determine whether he should be sentenced to death. "I want to see him dead," said Sara Puente, mother of the slain school girl, Nadia Puente, after the verdict was announced. "That is what he deserves. Nothing less than death."

Citing the horrifying nature of the crime, Orange County prosecutors on Tuesday charged three Anaheim boys who allegedly took part in a July 3 attack at Black Star Canyon with more than 50 felony counts and announced they would try the defendants as adults. The teenagers are accused of repeatedly raping two girls--ages 13 and 15--and beating their boyfriends ages 16 and 17--with a metal rod and a rock, fracturing one boy's skull.

Nadia Puente thought she was going to help a teacher unload some books when she entered a gray car while walking home from school the afternoon of March 20, 1989. Early the next morning, the body of the 9-year-old Santa Ana girl was found stuffed in a silver trash can at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Authorities allege that Nadia was kidnaped, sexually assaulted and killed by Richard Lucio DeHoyos, 34, a former assistant manager of a Taco Bell restaurant in Westminster.

A police officer on routine patrol spotted a kidnaping and robbery suspect in traffic Friday morning and made an arrest less than two hours after taking a report on the crime from the shaken victim. Officer Carol Mona, who has been a member of the force for one year, was driving her squad car on Harbor Boulevard near Imperial Highway just after 11 a.m. when a Toyota van pulled in front of her.

A tale of kidnapping and extortion involving students at Troy High School in Fullerton, a magnet school that draws young Ivy-League bound scholars, unfolded Monday in a Pomona courtroom. The intrigue began when a 17-year-old Troy student had a falling out with a group of classmates who call themselves the Honor Roll Mafia, authorities said.

Citing the horrifying nature of the crime, Orange County prosecutors on Tuesday charged three Anaheim boys who allegedly took part in a brutal July 3 attack at Black Star Canyon with more than 50 felony counts and said they would try the defendants as adults. The three juveniles--and two adult suspects--are accused of repeatedly raping two girls--ages 13 and 15--and beating their boyfriends, ages 15 and 16--with a metal rod and a rock, fracturing one boy's skull.

Citing the horrifying nature of the crime, Orange County prosecutors on Tuesday charged three Anaheim boys who allegedly took part in a July 3 attack at Black Star Canyon with more than 50 felony counts and announced they would try the defendants as adults. The teenagers are accused of repeatedly raping two girls--ages 13 and 15--and beating their boyfriends ages 16 and 17--with a metal rod and a rock, fracturing one boy's skull.

A 10-year-old girl was abducted Friday evening from a relative's frontyard in Santa Ana by a man who pulled her into a van before speeding away, police said. Haley Benton of Orange was kidnapped about 5:30 p.m. from the 1700 block of West Myrtle Street as her aunt and other witnesses looked on, Santa Ana police spokesman Mario Corona said.

What started out as the brazen kidnapping of a Santa Ana contractor known to carry large sums of cash ended with a wild police pursuit through Long Beach during which one of the suspects, a 14-year-old gang member, fired dozens of shots at officers with an AK-47 rifle, authorities said Thursday.

What started out as the brazen kidnapping of a Santa Ana contractor known to carry large sums of cash ended with a wild police pursuit through Long Beach in which one of the suspects, a 14-year-old gang member, fired dozens of shots at officers using an AK-47 rifle, authorities said Thursday. The two alleged kidnappers were arrested and the victim was found unharmed--but only after daylong negotiations and what police described as unbelievable good fortune.

Police officers dodged bullets Wednesday night as they chased kidnap suspects through streets and freeways from Santa Ana to Lakewood, arresting one of the men whose car finally crashed and rescuing the victim. No one was wounded in the shooting, authorities said. Police were searching for another suspect who bolted from the car after the crash. The suspects had kidnapped an unidentified victim and had negotiated a ransom with Santa Ana police earlier in the day, said Sgt. Raul Luna.

Two men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery and kidnapping after allegedly torturing a local man and, believing him dead or dying, tossing him into a Malibu canyon, police said. Alfred Meza Garcia, 34, and Mario Miccio, 22, were arrested in connection with the attack in the early morning hours Sunday at a Fullerton business where the victim was allowed to sleep, according to Fullerton Police Sgt. Steve Matson.

The body of a 9-year-old Santa Ana girl was found stuffed in a trash can near the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles Tuesday, 11 hours after she had been abducted on her way home from school. Authorities identified the girl as Nadia Puente, a fourth-grader at Diamond Elementary School in Santa Ana. They said she had been sexually molested and strangled. Nadia's parents, Armando and Sara Puente, reported her missing at 5:30 p.m.

Police officers dodged bullets Wednesday night as they chased two kidnapping suspects through streets and freeways from Santa Ana to Lakewood. They rescued the victim and arrested one of the suspects after their car crashed. No one was wounded in the shooting, authorities said. Police were searching for the other suspect, who bolted from the car after the crash. The men had kidnapped an unidentified victim and had negotiated a ransom with Santa Ana police earlier in the day, said Sgt. Raul Luna.

Tustin police on Friday released the name of the man suspected of stealing a car carrying 14-week-old triplets from a service station in December, and an organization offered a reward for tips leading to his arrest. The triplets were found within half an hour of their abduction. Police continue to search for the suspect, Alejandro Zavala Sanchez, 20.