Police Seize Car Believed Used by Night Stalker

A stolen car believed used by the “Night Stalker” who has slain 14 people and assaulted more than 20 others was found this morning, more than 50 miles north of the scene of the latest attack.

The car, an orange Toyota stolen Saturday in Chinatown, was seized by police about 7 a.m. in the Rampart District northwest of downtown Los Angeles, police Cmdr. William Booth said.

“A citizen spotted it and called us,” Booth said. “It’s definitely the car.”

A similar car was seen Sunday in Mission Viejo about the time a 29-year-old woman was raped and her fiance shot and critically wounded. Part of its license number was noted, and matched the plate number 482 RTS belonging to the 1976 Toyota station wagon.

Tests Under Way

Booth said investigators were performing tests on the car, which was transferred to Orange County authorities.

The car was registered to a West Hollywood man, Bill Gregory, 56, a member of the West Hollywood Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church. Gregory said he had left a variety of church literature in the car when it was stolen.

Elsewhere, police began random traffic stops and the Los Angeles City Council, saying that the Night Stalker presents “a serious danger to the community,” authorized a $25,000 reward for information leading to his apprehension.

The reward for the killer--described as a tall, curly-haired man with bad teeth--was suggested by Councilman Howard Finn and will remain in effect for two months.

Wide Range of Sites

Although most attacks happened in Los Angeles County, the night assaults linked to the killer who enters homes through unlocked doors and windows have ranged from Orange County to San Francisco.

Victims have been shot, beaten, stabbed and raped. Those killed were 32 to 83 years old.

A 50-member, multiagency task force has received more than 2,000 tips from the public, including dozens of reported sightings.

Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Brad Gates said deputies are stopping motorists in the late night and early morning hours for questioning, and extra helicopter patrols have been added.

Los Angeles police issued a new sketch of the serial murderer Tuesday that shows him wearing a black baseball cap. (Photo and sketch in Part II, Page 1).