Man Pleads To Trying To Kidnap Teen At Knife-Point In Torrance

REDONDO BEACH, CA — A Los Angeles man pleaded no contest plea Tuesday for trying to kidnap a 15-year-old girl walking home from school in Torrance, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

Jhony Adalberto Granados-Lopez, 28, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted kidnapping and admitted using a knife in the commission of the crime, Deputy District Attorney Parag Agrawal said.

Granados-Lopez was immediately sentenced to one year in jail and five years of formal probation, the press release said.

On May 22, Granados-Lopez ordered the teen to get into his car as he held a knife, but the girl ran home and told her parents, the prosecutor said. The incident occurred near Spencer Street and Hawthorne Boulevard in Torrance.

A similar incident occurred in the South Bay two years ago. On Oct. 30, 2017, a Rancho Palos Verdes man drove up to a 13-year-old girl as she walked in the 28700 block of Highridge Road. He exited his car and pointed a firearm at her head while trying to force her into his vehicle. The victim was able to escape his grasp and call for help from people nearby, the prosecutor added. The man pleaded no contest to the attempted kidnapping last year.

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