Victim Tells Terrifying Tale of ‘Lost Weekend’ With Kidnapper

The first thing Mitchell Hirai did when he finally made his way home was to take a shower.

The second was to mix a vodka and tonic.

He had endured a terrifying 1,000-mile, mad-dash ride with a mailman who was in the midst of what police described as a whirlwind rampage of rapes, armed robberies and carjackings.

The 65-year-old retired sheet-metal worker was swept into a cloud of criminal activity early Saturday as he padded out of his Gardena house in his bedroom slippers to buy a newspaper. He didn’t return home for nearly three days.

According to Hirai and law enforcement officials, he was forced into the journey through Southern California by Mauro Gumpal, a 39-year-old letter carrier who the day before in Long Beach had allegedly raped one woman and stolen a car from another woman.

“I call it the lost weekend,” Hirai said Wednesday as his calmly sat in his living room where a large bouquet of flowers welcomed him home. “I’m still paranoid.”

Gumpal--wounded by officers when he was captured early Monday--was listed in serious condition Wednesday at Sierra Vista Hospital in San Luis Obispo, booked on an attempted murder charge. Long Beach and Gardena police said they will be filing charges against Gumpal for rape, robbery, carjacking and kidnapping.

Postal officials said the letter carrier, who had worked in the main Gardena post office for nearly 12 years, had been distraught over his recent separation from his wife and two teenage children.

He had frequently missed work in December and had been directed to seek counseling, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman George March.

Hirai intersected with Gumpal shortly after Hirai plunked a quarter into a newspaper vending machine near his home about 6 a.m. Hirai said he noticed Gumpal driving down the road and eyeing him suspiciously. Quickly, he said, Gumpal pulled up to Hirai and at gunpoint demanded money.

With only a few coins in his pocket, Hirai took the postal worker to his home, where they walked into Hirai’s bedroom while his wife, Violet, was in bed half awake. Hirai said he found $400 in cash and turned it over to the gunman.

Hirai said Gumpal then insisted that Hirai take his car and drive with him on a random, zigzagging adventure toward San Francisco.

They soon stopped at a Torrance doughnut shop where Hirai made a dash toward freedom. But Hirai said he lost his slippers and Gumpal was able to drag him back into his car.

As the two drove aimlessly through Southern California, Hirai’s only thoughts were of survival. He said he believed he would die after Gumpal told him he was wanted for murder, rape and armed robbery.

“I said that was it. I know I’m not coming back,” Hirai said.

On Saturday night, they slept in Hirai’s station wagon. The next morning, they headed north. According to Hirai, Gumpal said he wanted to find a woman. “Every moment it was a woman, a woman.”

In Santa Barbara on Sunday, Gumpal drove by homes, trying to peer inside for potential rape victims, Hirai said. At one home, Hirai inched away and hid all night in some bushes while Gumpal searched for him.

Early Monday, Hirai knocked on a neighbor’s kitchen door and asked her to call police.

Little did he know that Gumpal had gone on without him and been arrested shortly after midnight by Paso Robles police officers after he reportedly raped and kidnapped a 47-year-old Canadian woman attending a conference in Santa Barbara.

Gardena police drove Hirai home Monday night, where he was greeted by friends and relatives, including his wife, his daughter and twin 4-year-old granddaughters.