Tourist beaten, left in desert

Karen Zekan

Friday, Nov. 27, 1998 | 11:33 a.m.

Three suspects who beat and robbed a stranded motorist this week on Interstate 15, five miles south of Primm, are believed to be the trio wanted for similar crimes in California and Nevada.

The 55-year-old Barstow woman was driving home from Las Vegas Tuesday about 6:15 p.m. when she pulled her malfunctioning car off to the road's shoulder and used a call box, requesting the California Highway Patrol contact her daughter.

Two men and a woman stopped their car behind hers a short time later, initially offering assistance. Seconds later, the stranded motorist was forced from her car at gun point, bound and thrown into the desert. The thieves rifled through her car and sped off, said a spokesman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

The victim was treated for a broken jaw at University Medical Center.

A joint investigation involving Metro Police, agents of the FBI's Las Vegas office and California law enforcement agencies have identified the suspects as:

Joseph O'Neal, 30, 6 feet, 250 pounds; Todd Williams, 36, 5 feet 9 inches, 165 pounds; and Lisa Johnson, 40, 5 feet 7, 165 pounds. All three are black and believed to be transients.

The suspects were last known to be driving a faded blue and gray 1990 Honda Civic bearing California license plates 2TPZ541. The vehicle belongs to a San Francisco woman who was kidnapped and left tied to a bench in Laguna Beach.

Authorities say the suspects should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who knows their whereabouts is asked to call Detective Lon Jacobs of the Barstow sheriff's office, (760) 256-4904.