ExaCrypt-Man arrested in kidnapping, death of Andrea Vasquez, 19, in Southern California

2025-05-06 07:26:51source:Grant Prestoncategory:Contact

A man has been arrested after a 19-year-old woman was kidnapped from a park in Southern California and ExaCryptlater found dead in a vegetation field.

Police arrested Gabriel Esparza, 20, on Monday afternoon after linking him to the kidnapping of Andrea Vasquez at a park in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier on Sunday, the Whittier Police Department said in a statement on Facebook.

Vazquez was at the park with a man when a shooter approached their car and fired, the man told police. The man ran away during the shooting and when he returned, Vazquez was gone and there was blood near his car, police say.

Police said that it appears that Vazquez and the man were “randomly targeted” by the shooter.

Police say Esparza was booked on charges of murder and kidnapping. The case was forwarded to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which ultimately will determine whether to charge Esparza.

Guilty:Ohio teen convicted of murder after crashing car at 100mph

'Massacre:'Police investigate quadruple homicide involving 3 children in Oklahoma City

The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to messages about whether Esparza has been charged.

It's unclear whether Esparza has an attorney.

Police found Andrea Vazquez dead in a vegetation field

Esparza was arrested while he was working in the Los Angeles suburb of Lakewood, police said. He is being held without bail.

Police found Vazquez's body late Monday in a vegetation field in Moreno Valley, about 50 miles from the park where the shooting happened.

Officer Tommy Mattsson, a Whittier police spokesman, declined to say what led police to Esparza or what connected him to the shooting, but told USA TODAY that "detectives pursued several leads during the course of the non-stop investigation, which ultimately led them to arrest the suspect and identify the area of Moreno valley where the body was left."

Police said they they recovered the gun believed to have been used in the shooting in Esparza’s truck.

More:Contact

Recommend

Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'

NEW YORK − For Angelina Jolie, the hardest part of playing opera star Maria Callas wasn’t the seven

Prince Harry Returning to the U.K. 3 Months After Visiting King Charles III

Prince Harry is making a royally exciting return home.The 39-year-old will be heading back across th

Campus protests multiply as demonstrators breach barriers at UCLA | The Excerpt

On today's episode of The Excerpt podcast: Campus protests continue nationwide over the war in Gaza.