An armed kidnapper demanded ransom and forced a woman to drive a car with police in pursuit until the vehicle ran out of fuel on a Southern California freeway about 50 miles from the park where she was abducted, police said.
The pursuit began after Ivan Zamora, 24, allegedly kidnapped a couple at gunpoint and stole their car in Boyle Heights Thursday and ended in the Fontana area, officials said. The kidnapping victims were visiting Hollenbeck Park around 12:45 a.m. when they were approached by the attacker, who was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Zamora is said to have demanded one of the couple hand over their car keys before forcing them into the Volkswagen Beetle and driving to a 7-Eleven store, where the victims were ordered to call another couple that had been visiting the park. The second couple was robbed when they arrived at the store.
"We believe the suspect had knowledge that there were two couples at the park at the time of the original kidnap," said detective Gilbert Silva. "The second couple arrived believing that they were going to meet their friends to get away. That's when they were surprised by the suspect."
The subject took one of the female victims back to the car, forcing her to drive away with him as a passenger, police said. The kidnapped woman contacted her friends to say that the subject was demanding money for her release, information that was relayed to officers, police said.
"It was that telephone call that allowed us to actually locate where she was at that point," said Capt. Gary Lopez.
Officers started the pursuit after spotting the victim's car in the parking lot of a McDonalds restaurant on Caeser Chavez Avenue and Soto Street, LAPD Sgt. Edward Ortiz said. The chase ended in the Rancho Cucamonga area when the Volkswagen the victim was driving ran out of fuel on the 10 Freeway. The pursuit reached speeds around 80 mph, police said.
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"You can just imagine how terrified they would be knowing that their suspect was armed they had no other choice to comply," said Silva.
The assailant was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, carjacking and robbery. There is not a relationship between the suspect and the attacker, Sgt. Ortiz said.
The victim was taken to a police station. She did not appear to be injured.
NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.
