Man Kidnapped, Robbed and Has Vehicle Stolen in Neighboring City

By City News Service

A man was kidnapped, robbed and had his vehicle stolen in Norwalk Thursday and one of four suspects believed to have been involved was later arrested.

The victim told sheriff's investigators that some time before 4 a.m. he met two women in Walnut Park and voluntarily followed them in his vehicle to a residence in the 15400 block of Longworth Avenue in Norwalk, said Lt. Stacy Morgan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk Station.

Upon arrival, the man was confronted by two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun, Morgan said.

"The suspects demanded the victim's personal property, tied him up, and held him at the location for a period of time,'' Morgan said.

"Once the suspects released the victim, they informed him his vehicle had been taken to a nearby location for him to retrieve. The victim arrived at the indicated location and his car was not there.''

The man contacted authorities and led deputies to the Longworth Avenue location, which was surrounded by a sheriff's Special Enforcement Bureau team, Morgan said.

After ordering the occupants out of the residence, four people emerged and the victim identified one man -- later identified as Andrew Chavez, 38, of Huntington Beach -- as a suspect in the kidnapping and robbery, Morgan said.

It was determined the other three people who came out of the home were not involved, Morgan said.

A search warrant was obtained and deputies searched the home, but no additional suspects were located and the two women and second man remained outstanding, she said.

The victim's vehicle was later found in Long Beach, Morgan said.

Chavez was booked at the Norwalk Station on suspicion of kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery and a weapons charge. Bail was set at $100,000, Morgan said.