VAN NUYS : 2 Men Accused of Carjacking

Officers arrested two suspected carjackers minutes after a Van Nuys man had his car taken at gunpoint near his home, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

Kenneth Rice, 20, of Van Nuys and Robert Cannady, 25, of Panorama City were in custody at Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of robbery and grand theft, Detective Mel Arnold said. Each was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.

The two men were arrested near Vanowen Street and Coldwater Canyon about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday while riding in a car that was reported stolen in a carjacking about 10 minutes earlier in the 6600 block of Woodman Avenue, Arnold said.

The victim, Hugo Gonzalez, 25, of Van Nuys was getting out of his 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass when two men approached, brandished a handgun and demanded his wallet and car keys, Arnold said. Gonzalez complied and was left unharmed by the robbers, who drove away in his car.

A neighbor saw the incident from a nearby apartment and immediately reported it to police with a detailed description of the car, Arnold said. Police spotted the car about a mile away and chased the suspects. The two men then pulled over and surrendered without incident. Police recovered Gonzalez’s wallet and keys in the car but did not find a gun, Arnold said.

Detectives were checking other carjacking cases and armed robberies to see if the men were suspects in other crimes, Arnold said.