5 Women Motorists Are Attacked by Man Posing as Police Officer

Women motorists driving alone in the east San Gabriel Valley were assaulted in five related incidents by a man impersonating a police officer, authorities said Sunday.

One of the women required medical treatment, but was not hospitalized.

The impostor, dressed in clothing similar to that of a police officer, followed the victims in a car and determined that they were alone, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators said. The man then used a white spotlight mounted on his car to signal the victims to pull over, after which he demanded to see their driver’s licenses.

Depending on the women’s reactions, the impostor attacked with varying degrees of violence, Sheriff’s Sgt. Terry Judge said. One of the victims was robbed.

The five victims described the assailant as white, in his 20s, about 6 feet tall, 150 to 170 pounds, with light-colored, curly shoulder-length hair and possibly a mustache. He was reportedly “dressed in dark blue clothing . . . a dark jacket, a dark baseball cap and carrying a flashlight,” Judge said.

All of the attacks took place on or near the Pomona Freeway between 7th Avenue and Fairway Drive.

The first attack occurred on the Pomona Freeway near Hacienda Heights at about 10 p.m. Saturday, investigators said. A 32-year-old Diamond Bar woman was stopped and the impostor asked to see her license, then dragged her away from the car and tried to rape her. He fled when the woman fought back, Judge said.

The second incident took place at 12:35 a.m. Sunday, when a 33-year-old West Covina woman was stopped on a street near her home.

“During a prolonged search for her license, the suspect struck her in the face four times with a flashlight,” Judge said.

The woman was given medical treatment, but not hospitalized.

At 3 a.m., on Brea Canyon Cut-off in Rowland Heights, the impostor demanded to see a 31-year-old Diamond Bar woman’s license and walked away from the car with her wallet. When the woman got out of her car, the man threatened her with a knife. She ran away, and the man drove off with the wallet, which contained $100, the woman told detectives.

Fifteen minutes later, a 24-year-old Pomona woman was stopped on Fullerton Road in Rowland Heights. She refused when the impersonator demanded that she get out of her car. The man then tried to spray the woman with Mace and she drove away.

In the last incident, at about 5 a.m. Sunday, a 20-year-old Whittier woman was stopped at Camino del Sur and Colima Road in Hacienda Heights. The impostor pulled the woman out of the car and dragged her to the edge of an embankment and pushed her. She tumbled down about 20 feet, after which the man followed and tried to assault her. When the woman fought back, the man ran away and fled in his car.