Crime & Safety
Robber Involved In String Of OC Kidnappings Pleads Guilty
A 45-year-old convicted robber pleaded guilty Thursday to abducting and attempted kidnapping of five victims in Westminster.
WESTMINSTER, CA — A 45-year-old convicted robber pleaded guilty Thursday to abducting and attempted kidnapping of five victims in Westminster.
Luis Manuel Grajeda Jr. pleaded guilty to six counts of false imprisonment, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of attempted kidnapping, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of stealing, attempted stealing and battery.
The kidnappings occurred in December 2021, according to Sgt. Eddie Esqueda of the Westminster Police Department.
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Grajeda accepted a plea deal from an Orange County Superior Court judge over the objections of prosecutors, his attorney Mark Fredrick said.
Grajeda, who has struggled with drug addiction since he was a young teen, has been in a residential drug-treatment program, Fredrick said. If he completes the drug-treatment program he could be granted probation, his attorney said.
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"He had no intention of hurting anyone," Fredrick said. "He thought he could get drugs from them."
Grajeda was heavily intoxicated at the time, his attorney said.
"This is the longest period of sobriety in his life since an early age," Fredrick said.
The incidents occurred about 6 p.m. at Hoover Street and Garden Grove Boulevard, police said at the time.
When officers arrived they encountered two women who said a man attempted to abduct them, police said. One victim was able to run away as the suspect exited his vehicle, a white Chevrolet Suburban, police said.
The suspect chased after the victim but returned to his vehicle and moments later attempted to lure the second victim into his vehicle, police said.
That victim also ran away, but the suspect caught up on foot and dragged her back into the vehicle, but she managed to get away before he got back over to the driver's seat, police said.
The women did not know each other, but happened to be in the area at the same time, police said.
Grajeda was convicted in June 2004 in Orange County Superior Court of robbery at an automated teller machine, according to court records.
