CA deputies use drone to disarm wanted parolee with magnet
In a separate California law enforcement incident, Sacramento County deputies used an unusual tactic to safely end a standoff with a wanted parolee inside a packed garage: a drone fitted with a strong magnet. Sgt. Edward Igoe, public information officer for the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office, called the maneuver an inventive “once in a lifetime opportunity,” saying it helped protect deputies while they dealt with a sex offender who had a violent criminal past.
Two men from Colombia were taken into custody in California after automated license plate reader technology flagged a stolen Mercedes-Benz that authorities say was connected to a violent carjacking several days earlier.
According to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 had been reported stolen on July 11 in Hawthorne, California, during a violent carjacking that also involved an assault with a deadly weapon.
A few days after the reported carjacking, deputies were alerted by an automated license plate reader that the vehicle was moving through Rolling Hills Estates. While searching the area, investigators also learned the Mercedes had been tied to a recent home burglary in Torrance, officials said.
CALIFORNIA MEN ACCUSED IN $100K BURGLARY CASE ALLEGEDLY SNAPPED SELFIES DURING BREAK-IN
Authorities in California arrested two Colombian nationals after license plate reader technology detected a vehicle allegedly connected to a violent carjacking in another city. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Deputies eventually located the Mercedes and pulled it over near Palos Verdes Drive North and Rolling Vista Drive.
As the car stopped, one passenger got out and fled on foot, leading deputies to quickly set up a perimeter in the area, the sheriff’s department said.
The vehicle had been reported stolen during a violent carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon in Hawthorne on July 11. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
The driver, Yareht Pedraza, 26, of Bogotá, Colombia, was taken into custody at the scene.
“With deputies securing the perimeter and an LASD airship overhead, the search quickly shifted from the streets to the skies. Within a short time, the passenger was located and taken into custody,” the sheriff’s department said.
As deputies began searching for the vehicle, they learned the car had also been linked to a residential burglary that just happened in Torrance. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
The passenger, Alan Pena Sabogn, 21, also of Bogotá, was later apprehended and arrested on suspicion of failing to obey a lawful order, obstructing a peace officer and providing false identification, authorities said.
Officials said Sabogn also had an outstanding felony no-bail burglary warrant from Colorado.
“This arrest is another example of how technology, proactive policing, and teamwork between deputies, dispatchers, and Air Support help quickly identify suspects and remove them from our communities,” the sheriff’s department said.
