Suspect in Valley Kidnapping Arrested

The father of a 2-year-old girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert after she was abducted at gunpoint in Chatsworth was questioned and booked for kidnapping early today.

Louai Nayel Issa, 27, was found with his 2-year-old daughter Lanees Wednesday night in the Westlake neighborhood after taking her from a welfare officer earlier in the day in Chatsworth, police said.

The girl’s unidentified mother, who police believed may have had knowledge of the planned abduction, was released without being booked, Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Stacey Vandersall said.

Vandersall said the girl was unharmed.

Police were alerted to the presence of the missing girl in Westlake by the manager of the nearby apartment complex where the father lived, Vandersall said. A perimeter was established and the father was taken into custody around 10:40 p.m. without incident, she said.

The abduction occurred about 2:05 p.m. Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol. At the end of a supervised visit, Issa, a Jordanian national, pointed a handgun at a Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services worker who had custody of the child, said Lt. Bob Long of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.

A second Jordanian man arrived in a getaway vehicle during what appeared to be a pre-planned abduction, and both men drove off with the girl, Long said.

The girl’s mother, who was not present at the supervised meeting, may have had knowledge of the plan, which is why investigators wanted to speak with her, Long said.

The child had been taken into DCFS custody because of her parents’ history of drug-related neglect, according to Southland authorities.

The girl and her father were the only occupants of the vehicle when it was found in Westlake, Vandersall said.

City News Service