A man reported kidnapped for ransom near Porter Ranch Town Center was found safe in Woodland Hills, and two 28-year-old suspects were booked on suspicion of kidnapping for ransom after detectives tracked them down in downtown Los Angeles. Anthony Christos and Morgan Peters were booked on suspicion of kidnapping for ransom following an overnight investigation that stretched across the San Fernando Valley and into downtown.
Police responded around 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 to the 19900 block of Rinaldi Street, near the Porter Ranch Town Center shopping plaza, after receiving a report of a kidnapping for ransom, according to Patch. The Los Angeles Police Department identified the suspects as Christos and Peters, both 28, per KTLA.
The male victim was located safe in the 22800 block of Victory Boulevard in Woodland Hills, away from where the alleged abduction began. Robbery-Homicide Division investigators worked through the night developing leads that eventually led them to the suspects, authorities said, culminating in their arrest in the 900 block of West Eighth Place in downtown Los Angeles.
Bail Figures Conflict Between Reports
Accounts of the suspects' bail diverge depending on the outlet. Patch's report states both men were booked with bail set at $1.05 million each, a figure also cited by KTLA. However, mynewsla.com reported that Christos and Peters were each held on $1.5 million bail. The discrepancy has not been resolved publicly.
Authorities have not released details about whether a ransom was paid or how the victim was ultimately located, nor have they disclosed any information about a possible motive or whether the suspects and the victim knew each other beforehand. The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for consideration of criminal charges.
Pattern of Ransom Kidnapping Cases in L.A. County
The Porter Ranch case adds to a string of kidnapping-for-ransom allegations that have surfaced across Los Angeles County in recent years. In August 2025, the Los Angeles County District Attorney filed felony charges against a former LAPD officer and three other men in connection with a violent home invasion and kidnapping for ransom in Koreatown on December 28, 2024. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office release identified the former officer, who is from Porter Ranch, as Halem and listed charges including kidnapping for ransom and home invasion robbery in that separate case.
More recently, in January, four Southern California men were arrested and arraigned on a nine-count indictment alleging they kidnapped migrants and held them for ransom, demanding cash from victims' families, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors have pursued similar conspiracies before; in 2022, two Los Angeles men were sentenced to federal prison for collecting ransom payments tied to multiple kidnapping victims near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Investigators are asking anyone with additional information in the Porter Ranch case to contact the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division at [email protected], or call 1-877-527-3247 during nonbusiness hours and weekends. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or through lacrimestoppers.org.
