Rape Suspect Arrested, Hours After Crime, by Off-Duty Officer
An off-duty Newport Beach police officer driving home early Saturday morning spotted and arrested a sexual assault suspect just after the crime was reported.
Police said a 30-year-old Huntington Beach woman was kidnaped and raped at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, as she returned to her home.
The assailant snuck up on the victim from behind on Viewpoint Lane in Huntington Beach, police said. Brandishing a revolver, he forced the woman back into her car and drove her to another location, where he raped her.
He then drove the victim back to her home and fled in his own car.
About two hours after police sent out a bulletin, an off-duty officer from the Newport Beach canine unit spotted 26-year-old Moses Tufele, who matched the victim’s description of the assailant, driving south on the San Diego Freeway near the Laguna Freeway. Police said the officer stopped the car and found the weapon believed to have been used in the assault.
Tufele, of Fontana, was being held Saturday on suspicion of kidnaping, rape and carrying a concealed weapon.
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