Man wanted for 3 LA carjacking attempts arrested after nurse sees him at local hospital

LOS ANGELES - One man was arrested Thursday for allegedly trying to carjack three women across Los Angeles within hours of each other, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police said a nurse at a local hospital called in to report that the suspect was a patient there.

LAPD's Hollenbeck Division held a news conference Wednesday to discuss the search for the suspect, 49-year-old Maurice Latorre, and that Latorre had at that point still been on the loose and dangerous. Within minutes of that news conference ending, though, police called reporters and camera crews back to reset their cameras for a second announcement.

"As of five minutes ago, we were told that the suspect, Maurice Latorre, is in custody," the officer said. The LAPD said that Latorre was being treated at LA General Medical Center and a nurse made the connection after seeing reports on the news.

Authorities said all three attempted carjackings happened on Sunday, Nov. 9, within miles of each other, and each of them was caught on security footage. LAPD officials identified 49-year-old Maurice Latorre as the suspect in all three attacks.

The first attack happened around 10 a.m. at a gas station on North Broadway in Lincoln Heights. Security footage showed a man in a black hoodie, who police identified as Latorre, leaning against the building while seemingly watching a woman who was pumping her gas. As the woman finished pumping the gas, the man approached her. As she tried to get into her car, the man forced his way into the car, pushing the woman into the passenger's seat. According to the LAPD, he then demanded the woman's keys as he tried to force his way into the car.

The woman was eventually able to push the man out of the car, and he casually walked off.

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Just a few hours later and just blocks away, police said the same man approached a different woman who was walking to her car in a parking lot, along with young children. Surveillance video showed the man grabbing the driver's side door, trying to get into the car. Another woman and two young girls were on the other side of the car. The man seemed to smash the window as the other three rushed into the car, screaming. Again, the man calmly walked off.

Just before 5 p.m. that day, there was a similar scene at another gas station on E Cesar E Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights. A woman was pumping gas when a man in a hoodie approached a woman and began talking to her. The two talked for over a minute. Then, as the woman finished up pumping gas, she walked around the car to get back in the driver's seat. But, as she did, Latorre rushed the car, forced the door back open and pulled the woman to the ground. The two struggled off camera, before the woman was seen running back to her car.

"Lucky for us and lucky for the victims, they were able to fight back and they were able to get away," said LAPD Detective Joe Diaz Ibarra. Ibarra told FOX 11 that he was afraid Latorre's violence could escalate next time. Police said Latorre suffers from mental illness and has a violent past.

"Whenever you have a series of crimes like that, it obviously creates tension within our community," said Captain Chris Mayberry. "We all have family members. We all have daughters and wies. It was pretty obvious to all of us that he was targeting women, and that is a great concern to us."

Before Latorre's arrest, the LAPD offered tips to the public on what to do if you're ever in a similar situation:

1. See what's around you and be vigilant
2. Don't focus on your phone.
3. Just look around and be sure it's safe.
4. And, if you find something like this happening to you, fight back and do whatever you need to do to get attention and help.