Fast-thinking staffers at Six Flags Magic Mountain are being credited by local sheriff’s deputies today for helping thwart a short-lived kidnapping and carjacking that happened on the weekend.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, a couple from China visiting the amusement park were leaving the park when a man jumped into their car.
“The couple from China were leaving the parking lot when the suspect jumped in car, attempting to carjack them,” Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station told The Signal Tuesday.
An “alert” Six Flags parking attendant, Magic Mountain Security (staffers) and a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputy coordinated with each other to catch the suspect, she said.
“The Six Flags employee did an outstanding job in handling the situation,” Miller said. “It was an excellent job by Magic Mountain employees in helping catch this carjacking suspect.”
When the park staffer spotted the carjacking, the staffer then alerted the park’s Security Supervisor who was nearby.
The supervisor then “turned his lights and siren on and the suspect exited the car and took off on foot,” Miller said.
Park officials praised the work done by their staff.
“We’re proud of our team,” Six Flags Park President Bonnie Sherman Weber said Tuesday. “They did a great job of following their trained procedures.
“We work closely with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and it’s nice to see the collaborative efforts pay off,” she said.
Deputies arrested Matthew Garcia, 22, of Buena Park, on suspicion of carjacking, a felony.
He was taken into custody with bail set at $100,000.
661-287-5527
on Twitter @jamesarthurholt
