Man Pleads Not Guilty in Series of Rapes, Burglaries
A Long Beach man accused in a string of rapes and burglaries in the Belmont Shore and Naples area pleaded not guilty Friday to numerous felony charges.
Jeffery Allen Grant, 32, has been charged with 18 felony counts and could receive at least two 25-year-to-life prison terms if convicted, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Long Beach Municipal Judge Richard Lyman granted a request to increase Grant’s bail to $2.22 million from the original amount of $1 million, Gibbons said.
Grant faces nine counts of residential burglary, six counts of assault with intent to commit rape, and one count each of forcible oral copulation, forcible rape and sodomy by use of force.
Grant is accused of sexually assaulting three women and victimizing six others between May 24, 1997, and Sept. 18, 1998, Police Cpl. Harry Erickson said.
The nine women, who ranged in age from 29 to 79, each were alone when Grant allegedly entered their homes through an unlocked window or door, Erickson said.
Grant, who works for the city of Long Beach as an adult softball coordinator, was arrested Wednesday afternoon at work.
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