Local News in Brief : Garden Grove : Evidence Sought Tying Suspect to Other Crimes

Police said Monday that a man arrested in Garden Grove earlier this month on suspicion of burglary may be a suspect in a series of rapes, attempted rapes and burglaries in Garden Grove, Anaheim and Buena Park.

Danny Harris, 37, of Buena Park was arrested July 4 on suspicion of attempted burglary and is being held in County Jail.

Investigators have been gathering evidence they believe may link Harris to as many as 18 other crimes that have occurred in the city during the past year, Police Lt. David Abrecht said Monday.

Police said Harris was convicted and sentenced to prison in a 1982 burglary in Fullerton. In 1985, he was released from prison and placed in a work furlough program, police said. He has been off parole since January, 1987, and since then has lived in Garden Grove, Anaheim and Buena Park.

“We’re still waiting on a lot of evidence,” Abrecht said. “We’re hoping that by the end of the week we will have some more information from the crime lab and enough (evidence) to charge him or (clear) him.”

Abrecht said police are asking anyone who may have seen anyone suspicious in the area of Magnolia Street and Hewitt Place, where Harris was arrested.

The suspect in the string of rapes and burglaries is believed to have staked out homes before burglarizing them, and police believe that someone may have seen him in the neighborhood, possibly posing as a salesman.

Anyone with information is asked to call Garden Grove police at (714) 741-5800 during the day or (714) 741-5704 after hours.