San Diego

A sharp-eyed San Diego detective Thursday arrested a suspect in 11 rapes when he spotted him at Horton Plaza. Aaron Arnez Johnson, 19, a suspect in the rapes and other crimes, was seized by Detective Pat Ruffner, who has been working on the case since June. Ruffner made the arrest based on descriptions given by victims in the Southeast neighborhood sex attacks, which began in June and with the last known attack on Nov. 10.

Included are five incidents of sexual assaults on women and girls ranging in age from 14 to 27 in the area of Gompers Secondary School, a police spokesman said. The attacker used a rock and a knife to intimidate his victims, according to police. The first incident was he June 24 attempted rape of a 14-year-old who managed to flee.

Johnson, a transient, is also believed to be the assailant in the rape of six women, aged 60 to 89, who lived alone.

He was being held in County Jail on suspicion of 11 counts of rape, two counts of sodomy, one count of kidnapping, three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child, five counts of false imprisonment, six counts of burglary, and seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Bail has been set at $165,000.