Suspect Linked to Rapes in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West L.A. Arrested

SANTA MONICA, CA — A man suspected in a series of sexual assaults in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles was arrested Wednesday near the MacArthur Park area, police said.

Pablo Carlos Pineda, 32, was arrested at around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez said.

The arrest came a result of a collaboration between the Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles police departments and the FBI, he said.

“We identified him through forensic evidence and other evidence gathered,” Rodriguez said.

Pineda was suspected of committing two sexual assaults on the same stretch of beach in Santa Monica, one on Jan. 13 and another on Feb. 5. He is also suspected of a violent sexual assault on April 15 in Beverly Hills and a recent sexual assault in West Los Angeles on July 2, he said.

In that attack, a woman was walking home in the 1400 block of South Westgate Avenue when a man grabbed her from behind and dragged her across a street to a dark path.

"He threw her onto the ground and got on top of her," according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement. "The victim fought back, but the suspect struck her numerous times and sexually assaulted her before fleeing."

Detectives in Los Angeles are working to determine if Pineda was involved in a fifth attack in July just a few days after the assault on Westgate Avenue.

On July 4, a man approached a woman as she was walking home about a half-mile away and on the same street as the first attack.

"He put his arm around her neck, pulled her down a driveway and forced her to the ground," police said. "He ... sexually assaulted the victim and fled on foot."

Pineda was booked at the Santa Monica Jail on suspicion of forcible rape, assault with intent to commit rape and assault by means producing great bodily injury. He remains in custody in lieu of $385,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursdays, according to jail records.

Pineda was only booked on the Santa Monica assaults with the West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills assaults under review by the District Attorney’s Office, Rodriguez said.

Police believe it’s possible there are more victims out there. Anyone with information about the attacks, should contact detectives at (310) 458-8218, Rodriguez said.

— Photo courtesy of the SMPD