Suspect in Rape Flees on Cycle, Caught in Chase

Less than three hours after he was released from jail in Los Angeles Saturday morning on a $10,000 bond, a rape suspect allegedly sexually assaulted a Santa Clarita Valley woman and then led police on a two-hour chase that stretched through three counties before his motorcycle ran out of gas west of Santa Barbara.

Lawrence David Gremminger, 49, of Sepulveda was arrested as he tried to flee on foot along Refugio State Beach.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Nimtz said charges of oral copulation, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and numerous vehicle code violations will be sought against Gremminger, who is being held on $1 million bail.

Nimtz said Gremminger had spent Friday night in a holding tank at the LAPD’s Parker Center downtown after being arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of rape.

Shortly after his release Saturday morning, said LAPD Lt. Alan Kerstein, a man alleged to be Gremminger arrived in the Santa Clarita Valley and began knocking on doors of homes in the Sand Canyon area, asking the women who answered whether their husbands were at home. His motorcycle had broken down and he needed help, he reportedly told them.

At one house, Nimtz said, only the family’s six children, the oldest of whom was 13, were at home.

At another house, Nimtz said, the man pulled a gun on the 46-year-old woman who came to the door. He forced her to perform oral sex before she was able to break free and run to a neighbor’s home for help.

Neighbors Join Chase

Two of the woman’s neighbors--a 50-year-old-man and his 23-year old son--jumped into their car and started to chase the man, who had fled on his motorcycle. They pursued him south into the San Fernando Valley, where they were able to flag down several LAPD officers who were investigating an accident at a Granada Hills intersection.

The police picked up the chase, which continued onto the Simi Valley Freeway, where they were joined by CHP officers. Sheriff’s deputies from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties entered the pursuit as the motorcycle raced along surface roads to the Ventura Freeway.

The chase, which reached speeds of 100 m.p.h. at times, ended at 3:15 p.m. when the motorcycle ran out of gas. The man abandoned the motorcycle and tried to run but was soon overtaken.

The LAPD’s Kerstein said the man drew a .22-caliber automatic pistol but surrendered his weapon before any shots were fired “when he realized he was greatly outgunned.”