Man Guilty of Kidnapping Social Worker, Teenager

A San Pedro man who abducted a county social worker and her teenage ward was convicted Wednesday of kidnapping, robbery and other felonies that could send him to prison for life, prosecutors said.

A Long Beach Superior Court jury deliberated less than a day before convicting Troy Lee Mendenhall, 32, on two counts of kidnapping and one count each of kidnapping for carjacking, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Mendenhall was arrested Jan. 17 after a pursuit on the Harbor Freeway after he kidnapped social worker Lucie Whitecomb, 43, and a 14-year-old girl.

Whitecomb was stabbed.

The incident began when the social worker went to San Pedro to pick up the girl at a foster home, Deputy Dist. Atty. Vivian Davidson said. Whitecomb was attacked by a hooded man when she arrived at the home and was forced back into her car, along with the girl.

Whitecomb was ordered at knifepoint to drive around the Harbor area before being tied up and dumped in an isolated refinery area in Wilmington, Davidson said. She managed to free herself and find help, only to discover that she had been stabbed in the side.

Mendenhall took off with the girl in the social worker’s car and was taken into custody after a short chase. The girl was not injured.