Santa Ana Parolee Arrested Near Site of Attempted Rape

A 21-year-old man on parole in connection with a previous rape case was arrested by Santa Ana police Tuesday when he was seen walking near the scene of an attempted rape.

The suspect, Norman Carver Morrow of Santa Ana, was held on suspicion of attempted rape in connection with the 6 a.m. attack, in which an assailant followed a woman from her parked car and dragged her behind a building at 2100 N. Main St., according to Santa Ana police.

Morrow is also a suspect in two rapes that occurred between 6 and 6:30 a.m. on June 8 and June 14 in the area of the Santa Ana Civic Center, Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said.

Police investigators, who had identified Morrow as a suspect in the Civic Center attacks, were on their way to his place of employment to arrest him when the attempted rape call was broadcast Tuesday morning. Detectives relayed a description of Morrow to patrol officers at the scene of the attempted rape, and Morrow was captured nearby, at the corner of Towner Street and Washington Avenue.

Noting that the two previous rapes had occurred six days apart, Thomas said, police first tried to arrest Morrow at his job on Monday, hoping to prevent a third attack on Tuesday, which was six days after the last reported rape. However, he was not at work on Monday.

“Apparently he was riding his bike or walking to work, and he would commit rapes before he went to work,” Thomas said of the suspected attacker. “He would pick women who were walking alone and seemed particularly vulnerable.”

Tuesday’s attempted rape was foiled by two men who heard the victim scream, Thomas said. They chased the suspect but eventually lost him, she said.

In all three incidents, women who had arrived early for work were attacked near their cars or followed into their offices, according to police. All three women have identified Morrow as their attacker, she said. The victimsrange in age from the mid-20s to late 40s.

Santa Ana police are reviewing reports of other attacks and contacting other Orange County police agencies to determine whether Morrow may be a suspect in other attacks, Thomas said.

Thomas said Morrow was released on parole in March from a central California prison where he had served time for a previous rape conviction, Thomas said.

Mike Van Winkle, a spokesman for the State Department of Corrections, confirmed that Morrow was released on parole March 16, but could not say where he had been incarcerated. Van Winkle said Morrow had been sentenced to two years in prison in connection with an Orange County rape case that resulted in Morrow pleading guilty to the lesser charge of assault with intent to commit a felony.