LONG BEACH : Suspect Held in Robberies, Attacks on Elderly Women

A man suspected in a string of residential break-ins and assaults targeting elderly women in North Long Beach was arrested Tuesday after sheriff’s deputies stopped him as he was driving a stolen car, police said.

Ricky Jerome Wyatt, 31, of Los Angeles was being held at the Long Beach Police Department pending arraignment Thursday in Municipal Court on burglary, robbery and rape charges, police spokeswoman Karen Kerr said.

This month, Wyatt allegedly robbed four women, ages 77 to 90, and sexually assaulted two of them, Kerr said. He added that Wyatt bound and blindfolded the women, taking televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment, jewelry and money.

A search of a room Wyatt rented in Downtown Los Angeles turned up several of the items, the statement said. Wyatt, who was on parole for a residential robbery and rape, was stopped by sheriff’s deputies in Compton after residents reported a suspicious man driving in their neighborhood, Kerr said. Deputies found that the auto Wyatt was driving was reported stolen in North Long Beach.