Thread: Kidnapping Suspect Arrested After Freeway Standoff

The John and Ken Show mentioned this guy was an illegal immigrant. I'm looking for an article confirming it.

http://www.latimes.com

Kidnapping Suspect Arrested After Freeway Standoff
By Richard Winton
Times Staff Writer

3:07 PM PST, March 8, 2006

A man wanted for kidnapping surrendered peacefully today after a four-hour standoff with police that closed one of Los Angeles' busiest freeways.

The man, Eduardo Medina, 33, allegedly tried to kidnap the daughter of a Van Nuys restaurateur last year for ransom, Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Medina surrendered about 3 p.m., but the 710 Freeway, which had been closed since 11 a.m., was not immediately reopened.

Vernon called Medina a known gang member who was considered armed and dangerous.

Police did not identify the victim of the kidnapping, which occurred in December. On Dec. 10, an accomplice of Medina was caught as he attempted to collect the ransom, Vernon said. Medina managed to escape the scene in South Los Angeles.

The hostage was freed uninjured, Vernon said.

Medina has been sought ever since. LAPD officers located him this morning in the 1000 block of East Market Street in Long Beach, but he fled, Vernon said.

Police chased Medina from Long Beach to Bell, then closed in on the suspect's minivan on the 710 Freeway, shutting down traffic in both directions on the heavily traveled road.

Heavily-armored police vehicles known as "bears" blocked the suspect's van at the front and rear. The van was severely damaged from a front-end impact.

With news helicopters circling, local and national television broadcast the incident live. At least two Internet sites showed it continuously.

Caltrans closed a 1½-mile stretch of the freeway southbound at Florence Avenue and northbound at Firestone Boulevard, said spokesman Dave White. The road carries 215,000 vehicles a day.

"We are suggesting that motorists avoid the area by using the 110 Freeway or Interstate 5," White said.

White noted that 17% of the daily traffic is trucks. The Long Beach Freeway is a critical route known for its heavy truck traffic to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

That story is just another reminder of how nice it must be to live in L.A. an amnesty international city. The crime section of my city's newspaper lists most perpetrators as having a surname ending in Z.
The impact illegal (and for that matter legal) immigration has on our daily lives is phenomenal. I was listening to a talk radio station driving home from Dallas yesterday and a caller who taught at an elementary school said that they had been advised that if they were not bi-lingual their jobs were not secure. Also since Hispanics take up 75% of the budget for social services most Social work jobs or for that matter public contact jobs require knowledge of Spanish in Texas. I fish in Baja and I've noticed there is no reciprocity in Mexico. Their attitude is that if you don't speak Spanish you are on your own. I studied Rehab Counseling in graduate school at U.T. many many years ago ( I was a pretty dim bulb as a young man) and this bilingual thing was not even a blip on the radar screen. Today if I wanted to work in that field(god forbid) I couldn't get a job. Getting back to the news article I guess you could say that the Bizarre city council and the Los Angeles electorate can stew in their own juices;however it's always been common wisdom that what is happening in California now will spill over to the rest of the country eventually.

http://www.mercurynews.com

Posted on Wed, Mar. 08, 2006

South Gate chase, standoff end, driver surrenders after 4 1/2 hours


Associated Press

SOUTH GATE, Calif. - An alleged kidnapper considered armed and dangerous peacefully surrendered to police in armored battle wagons Wednesday after a 4 1/2-hour chase and standoff that shut down one of Southern California's busiest freeways.

The man, Eduardo Medina, 32, of East Los Angeles, was a known gang member with a criminal history, said Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon.

"He gave up peacefully. ... We waited him out long enough," Vernon said, adding that police waited by the minivan Medina was in because they believed he was armed. No weapons were found in the vehicle or on Medina, said police Officer Sandra Escalante.

The incident started about 10:30 a.m. in Long Beach when undercover Los Angeles officers tried to arrest Medina, who was wanted on a $2 million warrant for a Dec. 10 kidnapping, Vernon said.

The plot, hatched by gang members, called for the kidnap for ransom of the daughter of a restaurant owner, Vernon said, but the wrong person was grabbed. That victim was rescued during the money drop, the lieutenant said.

"This guy has been in prison before," Vernon said. "He's a convicted felon. He has been deported once for Mexico and re-entered the country illegally after being deported. He has been arrested for concealed weapons charges, he's been arrested for robbery."

Jane Robison, a Los Angeles County district attorney spokeswoman, said Medina could be sentenced to life in prison under California's "three strikes" law if he is convicted of another felony.

A few minutes after the chase started, the red minivan came to a stop on the freeway on Los Angeles' east side and was immediately surrounded by armored SWAT battle wagons.

There was damage to the front end of the van, but Medina stayed inside, sometimes gesturing to police and deputies. Relatives were brought to the area and a robot was used to take a telephone to him.

All the while, helmeted deputies trained their weapons at him and waited while the standoff was recorded by several television helicopter crews.

The Long Beach Freeway, which is heavily used by trucks going to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, was closed in both directions. The closure backed up traffic for miles, clogging connecting freeways and jamming surface streets in the area.