Man Posing as Parole Officer Held in Series of Koreatown Rapes

A Los Angeles man recently arrested for posing as a state parole officer was identified by police Tuesday as the so-called Koreatown rapist wanted in more than a dozen sexual assaults and robberies.

Tyreese Lamar Reed, 29, is believed to be responsible for 13 sexual assaults and related robberies in Koreatown, Beverly Hills and Glendale between Aug. 26, 2004, and June 15, 2005, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton said.

Investigators have linked Reed to six of the crimes through DNA, Bratton said.

All of the victims, who ranged in age from 17 to 55, were Asian. Eleven were of Korean descent.

On Tuesday, the district attorney’s office filed 18 counts of sexual assault and robbery against the Los Angeles electronics technician. If he is convicted on all counts, Reed, who is being held at the Twin Towers Jail on $1 million bail, faces a minimum of 150 years in state prison.

The break in the case came Friday, when Officers Alex Ronquillo and Shawn Havican saw Reed in a car in the area of Koreatown where some of the rapes were reported.

He appeared to match the description given by several victims.

Reed, who noticed that he was being watched, walked over to the officers, flashed a small badge and told them he was a state parole agent.

At a news conference Tuesday at Parker Center, the two officers said the brief encounter struck them as odd and they continued to follow Reed, who drove to an apartment building near Hobart Boulevard and 6th Street. Reed ran, but eventually gave up after being surrounded by officers.

Police recovered a badge with the California Department of Corrections insignia and a Beretta handgun with a laser sight.

A handgun was used in all the attacks, police said.

Anyone with additional information regarding the case is asked to call LAPD detectives at (213) 485-2921.