Man Headed to Trial in Jeep Attack Case

A man who allegedly attacked a woman from inside her Jeep last summer is scheduled to stand trial next week on two felony charges of false imprisonment and second degree auto burglary.

The trial is scheduled to start Thursday .

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark E. Widham dismissed in September two additional charges—attempted kidnapping and attempted carjacking—filed against 42-year-old Lubomir Pentchev Gueorguiev because there was not enough evidence.

Gueorguiev remains in custody in lieu of $125,000 bail, according to jail records.

The victim, identified in court records as Jane Doe, was allegedly attacked the afternoon of Aug. 18, from inside the cab of her soft top Jeep Wrangler, which was parked outside Ortho Mattress in the 1500 block of Wilshire Boulevard. She testified at a preliminary hearing in September that she sat down in the driver's seat and was about to put the keys in the ignition when she felt somebody grab her.

She said she looked in her rear view mirror and saw a shirtless man in the back seat with a "scary look" on his face, according to court transcripts.

After a short struggle, the woman said she managed to open the car door. "I was in the middle of Wilshire and almost got hit by a couple of cars. And I just stood in the middle of Wilshire screaming 'help.'"

"I usually always look in my car [before getting in] but must not have looked good enough," she testified. She said after the incident, police pointed out that the window zippers were down and the back of her soft top was open.

Santa Monica Police officers arrested Gueorguiev with help from a witness who had run after him as he allegedly fled from the Jeep. The suspect reportedly hunkered down in a nearby apartment complex, but the Good Samaritan kept an eye on him until officers arrived to set up a perimeter, according to the police.

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