Suspect Acquitted in Rapes, Shootings Despite Being Identified by 2 Victims Who Survived

A Los Angeles man was acquitted Thursday of all charges stemming from the rapes and shootings of two Inglewood women and a teen-age girl, despite the fact that the two surviving victims identified the man as their attacker.

J.C. Metoyer, 21, was scheduled to be released from custody Thursday night after a Los Angeles Superior Court jury cleared him of 11 felony charges that could have led to the death penalty.

The verdict came two years after an intruder broke into an Inglewood home shared by a 33-year-old woman, her 14-year-old daughter and their 19-year-old housemate. All three reported being raped and shot at close range by the assailant.

Sarah Laureana, 19, died, but the mother and daughter survived and identified Metoyer, a neighbor, as their attacker.

Defense attorneys attempted to point out discrepancies in the survivors’ stories, pointed to a lack of physical evidence of sexual assault and questioned the victims’ honesty.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew McMullen, who prosecuted the case, could not be reached for comment.