Last of Five Suspects Sought in Kidnapping of Boy Is Arrested
LA PALMA — The last of five suspects wanted in the kidnapping of a 10-year-old boy was taken into custody at his attorney’s office, police said Sunday.
Investigators arrested the 14-year-old boy, whose name was being withheld because of his age, about 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the office of the suspect’s attorney in Glendale, police said.
He was taken to juvenile hall on suspicion of kidnapping and residential robbery in connection to Tuesday’s abduction of Phillip Kim from his apartment in the 7700 block of Valley View Avenue, police said.
Kim, a fourth-grader at Dr. Russell I. Johnson Middle School, was found unharmed later that day in Koreatown and was reunited with his parents.
Police arrested Hui Won Chong, 50, of Los Angeles on Wednesday night while he was on his way to his Koreatown home. Three 16-year-old boys, accompanied by their parents and attorneys, surrendered to authorities the next day.
Authorities said they believe Chong masterminded the kidnapping to send “a message†to Kim’s parents.
Chong apparently had assisted the Kims in settling in this country after their arrival from Korea, and claimed that the family owes him money for his services, police said. The Kims told investigators they are not indebted to the suspect.
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