82-year-old OC man recounts being kidnapped, robbed in hourslong ordeal; suspect held on $1.3 million bail
"I told him that he wasn't going to take my wedding band unless he took it off my dead body," the victim said.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- An 82-year-old man recounted a terrifying ordeal after being kidnapped and robbed last week after walking in on a burglar at his Santa Ana home, authorities announced Tuesday.
According to police, on June 9 the intruder knocked the victim down and pinned him to the floor and threatened to kill his wife if he did not cooperate.
"When he finally had taken the ring off of my right hand and my watch, I told him that he wasn't going to take my wedding band unless he took it off my dead body," the victim recalled, his voice choked with emotion. "His reply was, 'We'll wait for that later.'"
In a statement, the Santa Ana Police Department identified the suspect as Sergio Magaña Arechiga, who allegedly "forced the victim into the victim's car, filled it with stolen items from the residence, and drove the victim around for several hours. Arechiga drove to various locations, forcing the victim to withdraw money from an ATM, and various other places to buy Arechiga food, alcohol and clothing."
Surveillance video shows the two men at a sporting goods store during the hourslong ordeal, Santa Ana police said.
Meanwhile, the victim's family received alerts about unusual activity on his credit card, according to a news release. His son was able to track his location through his cellphone and found him sitting in the passenger seat of his vehicle near the intersection of First and Harbor Boulevard.
The kidnapper had fled the scene moments before the son arrived, authorities said.
Arechiga was located three days later at a family members home by Santa Ana police officers responding to a disturbance call. He was taken into custody with some of the 82-year-old kidnapping victim's property in his possession, the statement said. Arechiga's bail was set at $1.3 million.
