Police Raid Auto Body Shop, Rescue Woman They Say Was Kidnaped

Los Angeles police raided a Sun Valley auto body shop Wednesday and rescued a 25-year-old pregnant woman they said had been kidnaped and held 36 hours for $210,000 ransom because her captors thought she had relatives with narcotics-trafficking money.

Ten people, ranging in age from 17 to 37, were arrested, Lt. Fred Nixon said.

Police raided FC&M; Body Shop in the 12300 block of Branford Street near San Fernando Road at 2:30 a.m. and located the victim in a concealed room, Nixon said

“The victim was unharmed from her ordeal and her name is being withheld pending further investigation,” Nixon said.

Four men, at least one of them armed, kidnaped the woman Monday from her home in the 1100 block of East 43rd Place in South-Central Los Angeles, Detective William Stewart said.

Several friends with her at the time notified police, he said.

During the next day and a half, the woman was moved from location to location, sometimes blindfolded or gagged, as her captors phoned repeated demands for $210,000, police said.

Stewart said the kidnapers believed the woman had relatives involved in illegal drug dealing who could come up with the money.

Police would not say if any of the victim’s relatives, or any of the suspects, were involved in drug activity.

“We got a break in the case that led to the first arrest at 11 a.m. Tuesday,” said Nixon, who declined to elaborate.

The first arrest eventually led police to the remaining suspects in Sun Valley, Nixon said.

Police recovered some firearms, Nixon said, but he declined to give details.

The 10 suspects--six men, three women and an unidentified 17-year-old--were still in custody late Wednesday, Officer Sharyn Michelson said.

Nixon identified the suspects, whose hometowns were not available, as: Edgar Gomez, 37, Manuel Aendano, 29, Carlos Gomez, 35, Jaime Avendano, 35, Jesus Lizarraga, 29, Rene Sanchez, 25, Maria Sanchez, 23, Lourdes Vargas, 29, and Paula Galindo, 19.

Los Angeles police arrested seven people and freed two victims in a similar kidnaping about two weeks ago, Nixon said.

But he said it was unclear if there was any connection. He declined to give details.