Suspect arrested in series of attempted carjackings captured on video in Lincoln Heights, LAPD says

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with a series of violent carjacking attempts that were captured on video in Lincoln Heights, authorities said Thursday.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed that a suspect was in custody, but no further details were immediately provided.

News of the arrest came less than an hour after LAPD detectives held a news conference outside the agency’s Hollenbeck station, where they revealed additional disturbing details about the three separate incidents.

In two of the attempted carjackings, the women targeted by the attacker were accompanied by children, police said. No serious injuries were reported in any of the attacks.

On Wednesday, authorities identified 49-year-old Maurice Latorre as the wanted suspect in the case, adding that he has a “violent” criminal history. It is unclear whether he was the person in custody Thursday.

Surveillance footage shows a man approaching women — two at gas stations, the other in a parking lot — and talking to them briefly before trying to get behind the wheel and take their vehicles, the LAPD said.

In two of the confrontations, the women resisted and the man eventually gave up and ran away.

In the third incident, the suspect is seen ripping open a car door, pulling the female driver out and then attacking her. A bystander pulled him off the woman and he fled on a silver bicycle.

The three incidents took place on November 9. The first was at 10:40 a.m. in the 3200 block of North Broadway; the second at 1:50 p.m. in the 2100 block of North Broadway and the third at 4:55 p.m. in the 2900 block of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue.

Anyone with information about the case was asked to call Hollenbeck detectives at (323)342-8981 or provide anonymous information to Crime Stoppers at (800)222-TIPS.