Riverside Man Is Held as Suspect in Sexual Attacks

Police arrested a 22-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of sexual attacks in Orange and Riverside counties in the past month.

Steve Dexter Brooks, whose last known address was in Riverside, was arrested Tuesday night without incident in Garden Grove by Garden Grove and Newport Beach officers, after a short surveillance, police said.

On Dec. 3, a Costa Mesa woman reported a rape, and on Nov. 29, a woman living on 38th Street in Newport Beach reported a similar attack.

On Dec. 16, a woman living on Colton Street in Newport Beach reported that an armed man threatened to rob and rape her but fled when her roommate returned home, according to Sgt. Andy Gonis.

In each case, the armed attacker entered a residence through an unlocked first-floor door or window, police said.

Brooks was being held Wednesday in the Newport Beach Jail on $50,000 bail. Authorities said he is expected to be arraigned at Municipal Court in Newport Beach no later than Friday on rape charges.

Earlier this week, Officer Mike Hernandez of the Newport Police Department noticed that the description of the suspect in Orange County resembled another suspect in sexual attacks in Riverside. After Newport detectives contacted police in Riverside, Brooks was placed under surveillance, Gonis said.

At the Garden Grove address where Brooks was arrested, police said they found several items of property they believe link him to several of the crimes under investigation.