Suspect in Beauty Salon Robberies Pleads Innocent

A man accused of robbing 30 beauty salons during a six-month crime rampage in which he allegedly shot and sexually assaulted a series of women, pleaded innocent at his arraignment Monday in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

Walter Antonio Cortez, 26, will face a preliminary hearing Oct. 27, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said.

Described by detectives as a transient from Van Nuys, North Hills and Maywood, Cortez faces 35 felony charges in a string of armed robberies dating to March 18.

The charges include murder, attempted murder, 11 counts of robbery, nine counts of false imprisonment, four counts of attempted rape, three counts of sexual battery, one count of sodomy and five counts of witness intimidation.

Cortez’s attorney, Dan Kuperberg, a public defender in the Van Nuys office, declined to comment on the case.

Cortez has been linked to about 30 armed robberies at hair and nail salons, five of which involved sexual assaults in the San Fernando Valley, said police. Cortez was arrested Sept. 15.

During a robbery at a party store just west of downtown Los Angeles, Cortez shot the pregnant owner three times and fled, police alleged. Although not struck by gunfire, the fetus later died due to complications from the mother’s wounds, police said.

In another incident near downtown, Cortez allegedly shot and wounded a person for looking at him, police charged.