Kidnap Suspect Arrested After 4-hour Standoff

Los Angeles: Deputies assigned the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) arrested a kidnap suspect wanted by LAPD detectives this afternoon, after a 4-hour standoff, which ended at 3 PM.

The incident began with a pursuit in Long Beach this morning, when LAPD detectives went to the 1000 block of East Market Street in Long Beach, looking for Eduardo Medina, 32. When they attempted to stop him in his red minivan, Medina took off. Uniformed Long Beach Police officers pursued him until he stopped, northbound on the Long Beach Freeway at Florence Avenue, just before 11 AM.

Deputies from SEB responded quickly and contained Medina, who refused to give up, in his van. The CHP closed down both sides of the freeway for the duration of the standoff. By 3 PM, Medina was convinced to give up. Deputies handed him over to detectives from LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division. Deputies found no weapon in the van.

Medina had been named in an arrest warrant stemming from a kidnap for ransom that occurred last December 10, 2005, in the Devonshire area of Los Angeles. Medina and his accomplice, 18-year-old Roberto Alba, kidnapped an 18-year-old girl and took her to South Los Angeles. The next day, they arranged for a ransom exchange. Detectives were able to rescue the victim, unharmed. Alba was arrested, but Medina got away. The bail on his warrant was set at $2 million.

Medina and Alba had originally planned to kidnap the daughter of a San Fernando Valley restaurant owner, but they ended up kidnapping the daughter’s friend instead.

Medina is a known gang member and paroled felon with a criminal history for robbery, carrying a concealed weapon, grand theft, and other charges.