Police Arrest Two Suspects in Three Sexual Assaults

Two men have been arrested in connection with two rapes and a sexual assault in Alhambra and South Pasadena as police investigated a string of six sexual assaults this month in the western San Gabriel Valley.

One of the men, a transient in his early 30s, is suspected of committing two attacks on June 20--a sexual assault and robbery in the morning in Alhambra and a rape in the afternoon in South Pasadena, police said. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested Wednesday by a South Pasadena patrol officer who thought he resembled a composite sketch of the assailant.

The other suspect was arrested Tuesday in Monterey Park after the victim of a June 15 rape in Alhambra told police she recognized her attacker while grocery shopping. The woman ran to a pay phone and called police, who arrested Frank R. Hernandez, 41. He was being held in Alhambra jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

The arrests come after several jittery weeks for many women in Alhambra, South Pasadena and Monterey Park, where news of the six assaults stirred fears, prompting some people to take extra precautions.

At a South Pasadena beauty salon where one of the attacks occurred, a hairdresser now carries a stun gun. In Monterey Park, female employees at an office complex have been given whistles for their key chains and await the arrival of a martial arts instructor to teach them self-defense.

“We took a lot of things for granted that we really never should have,” said Anita Griffin, a supervisor at the State Compensation Insurance Fund on Corporate Center Drive, where another attack occurred. “Now we’re being a lot more cautious. No one walks any more. No one works late.”

Police have said that most of the attacks do not appear to be related, and officers in the three cities emphasized that they did not think a serial rapist was on the loose.

Although they have been urging women to be cautious, police also pointed out six assaults in communities with a combined population of nearly 165,000 is not that unusual.

On average, Alhambra reports 20 to 25 rapes every year, Monterey Park has from eight to 12 and South Pasadena usually has one or two.

“We always caution people to be careful when you open the door or when you go to your car,” said Alhambra Police Sgt. Ronald Strand. “But this is getting a little overboard. It’s one of those things that’s created more panic in the community than it’s worth.”

The first in the string of six sexual attacks took place June 13 in Monterey Park, just down the street from Corporate Center Drive. A 19-year-old woman employed at the office complex was assaulted about 7 a.m. as she walked alone to work, police said.

Her attacker approached her asking what time it was and then threw her down a slope along Casuda Canyon Drive, where he sexually assaulted her and then left her lying in the ditch, officers said.

“Her eyes just showed terror,” said Monica Ramirez, an office worker at the state insurance fund who found the woman, half-naked, running up from the ditch. “I didn’t even notice she was bare from the waist down. But I could read her lips, and I saw her saying, ‘Help me.’ ”

About 1 1/2 hours later, a 14-year-old girl was thrown to the ground and assaulted by a man as she crossed the athletic fields near South Pasadena Junior High School. The girl screamed and fought off her attacker, who punched her in the eye and fled, officers said.

About 9 that night, a man sneaked in the back door of a South Pasadena salon before closing time and hid in the bathroom. He then assaulted a 27-year-old hairdresser at knifepoint. He tied up and attacked the woman, apparently believing they were alone in the salon. But another hairdresser discovered them, scaring off the assailant before he could rape the woman, police said.

The fourth attack occurred on June 15, when a 22-year-old Monterey Park woman was assaulted at knifepoint as she walked home about 11:45 p.m. along the 3000 block of West Ramona Road in Alhambra. She was taken to a freeway overpass nearby and raped, police said.

Then, about 11 a.m. June 20, a 25-year-old woman was assaulted at gunpoint in her carport in the 200 block of North Marguerita Avenue in Alhambra. The attacker forced his way into her car, fondled her and robbed her of about $70, officers said.

About 3:30 that afternoon, police believe the same man raped a 16-year-old inside her South Pasadena home. The suspect knocked on her door and, when the girl opened it, he used a gun to force his way in.