Suspected Rapist Arrested in Stakeout

A man suspected of raping two women in the same Sun Valley neighborhood was arrested by officers who grabbed him when he tried to assault a third woman, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

Alfredo Valencia Jimenez, 20, whom police described as a transient, was being held on $50,000 bail on suspicion of attempted rape and was expected to be charged today, police said.

In the last six weeks, Jimenez allegedly raped two women walking to work in the 8400 block of San Fernando Road between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., Lt. Stuart Maislin said. He was arrested about 6:20 a.m. Tuesday after officers, who were staking out the area because of the attacks, noticed a man who matched the rapist’s description grab a woman from behind and push her into an alcove between two businesses, Maislin said.

Jimenez was slightly injured when he struggled with the officers, Maislin said. The woman was not injured, he said.