Video After The Jump
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 38-year-old man was arrested for kidnapping after he reportedly posed as a police officer to convince a 13-year-old boy to get in his vehicle after hitting him with his truck near Panorama City.
The boy was riding his bike Wednesday morning when he was struck by a pickup truck driven by Ottoniel Mendoza.
Mendoza allegedly showed the boy a badge & told him he was a police officer & directed him to get into his truck.
A witness who saw the crash followed Mendoza & called police.
Mendoza was quickly found. He & another man were inside the truck with the 13-year-old.
"While the suspect was driving around with the victim in the vehicle, he picked up another male & just after that male was picked up, our Mission Area patrol officers found the vehicle & took everyone into custody," LAPD Valley Bureau Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said.
The boy was sent to the hospital for minor injuries from the crash.
Mendoza was arrested & booked for kidnapping. A charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer is pending.
The other man was interviewed but was not taken to jail.
Hamilton said it's hard to speculate what the motive was at this point or what could have happened, but he believes they would be looking for a missing teen if it wasn't for a good Samaritan who saw something & did something about it.
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