Kidnapers’ Detour Leads to Arrests

They were more thirsty than they were in a hurry, and quenching that thirst could have cost the three would-be fugitives a clean getaway.

The three men, who kidnaped and robbed a motorist early Friday, were running from authorities in Valencia when they detoured into a Vons Market to buy some brandy, a sheriff’s official said.

They were arrested near the store at Lyons Avenue and Vermont Drive shortly after, said Sgt. Ron Boudreaux of the Santa Clarita station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Kidnaping, Robbery

Carlos Hernandez, 20, Francisco Romero, 20, and Juan Gutierrez, 21, all of Los Angeles, were arrested at 6 a.m. on suspicion of kidnaping and robbery, Boudreaux said. Each was held in lieu of $20,000 bail at the Santa Clarita sheriff’s substation, he said.

The odyssey began near downtown Los Angeles about 2 a.m. when the victim, Hyeong Won, 26, mistook Gutierrez for a friend and stopped to pick him up at Sixth and Berendo streets, Boudreaux said.

When Won stopped his car at the curb, Hernandez and Romero ran to it, he said. Hernandez drew a gun and forced Won into the passenger’s seat, while the other two jumped in the back seat, Boudreaux said.

Headed to San Francisco

After driving around downtown for several hours, the three decided to take Won and his car to San Francisco on the Golden State Freeway, authorities said.

When they stopped at an Exxon station in Valencia for gas, Won jumped out of the car and screamed for help, Boudreaux said. A station attendant called authorities as the three men fled from the car, he said.

They didn’t run far. The trio stopped at the Vons Market, 2 blocks away, to buy a bottle of El Presidente Brandy and a six-pack of Pepsi with $62 they had stolen from Won, Boudreaux said. They were arrested a short time later.