Police warn of violent man targeting women in these L.A. neighborhoods

A 49-year-old man has been identified in a trio of attempted carjackings targeting women in several East Los Angeles neighborhoods, police announced Wednesday.  

The terrifying Nov. 9 incidents, some of which were caught on surveillance cameras, show the suspect, now identified by police as Maurice Latorre, violently attacking the unsuspecting victims.  

The first attempt, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release, occurred at around 10:40 a.m. at a gas station in the 3200 block of North Broadway.  

The 49-year-old was seen approaching a woman as she gassed up her car. The victim was able to get into her car and close her door, but Latorre opened the door and forced his way into the vehicle, attempting to push the woman toward the backseat as he demanded her keys.  

“A brief struggle ensued, and the victim was able to get the suspect out of her vehicle,” police said. “The suspect then fled on foot.”  

A few hours later, just before 2 p.m. in the 2100 block of North Broadway in Lincoln Heights, the hooded 49-year-old is seen on surveillance cameras approaching the driver of a red-colored SUV as a woman on the passenger side was putting her children in the back of the vehicle. 

Latorre, according to police, demanded the keys, but the woman was able to drive away as the 49-year-old casually strolled off.  

The suspect struck again three hours later, just before 5 p.m., at a gas station in the 2900 block of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights.  

Latorre tried to get the woman out of the driver seat, but she fought back even as she was pulled from the vehicle, and they went to the ground. Police said a passerby pulled the 49-year-old off the woman. The suspect then fled on a silver-colored bike.  

“Anything can happen. This world is changing every day,” Boyle Heights resident Cecilia Castillo told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.  

Castillo comes to the Arco gas station where the third attempted carjacking occurred regularly and at night.  

“I pump gas at night, and I work nightshift, so yeah, scary,” she said of the incidents.  

Boyle Heights resident Danny Diaz told KTLA that if people see something like that, they should prevent it. The incidents hit close to home for him since he says something similar happened to his partner last month.  

“It happened to my fiancée not too long ago, too,” he explained. “Some guy tried to break in and take the car while she was pumping gas with my son inside. That’s scary for us because imagine they take the car with the kids inside and you go crazy.”  

Police described Latorre as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing around 180 pounds with black hair and eyes.  

The public is urged to practice caution if they spot Latorre as he is considered violent and dangerous, police said. Instead, they should call 911 immediately.