A 43-year-old Anaheim man was arrested early Sunday after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he met at a nightclub whose purse and cellphone had just been stolen, police said.
Officers discovered the alleged assault victim shortly before 3 a.m. after she jumped out of a vehicle during a traffic stop on Placentia Avenue near Chapman Avenue, according to a news release from the Placentia Police Department.
The woman ran to officers and told them the driver of the vehicle had sexually assaulted her, the release stated.
Police later learned that the woman met the driver at an Anaheim Hills-area nightclub. After her purse and cellphone were stolen, the suspect — identified by police as Jose Rodriguez — offered to give her a ride home and she accepted.
The alleged sexual assault occurred during the trip, according to police, adding that the woman had tried and failed to exit the car on multiple occasions.
Officers had initiated the traffic stop after they observed her trying to get out of the vehicle several times while it was moving.
As the victim detailed the assault during the stop, Rodriguez fled the scene in the car, police said in the release.
His vehicle was eventually located by an Anaheim Police Department helicopter in the area of Acacia and Wilshire avenues in Fullerton. He was taken into custody after surrendering to officers in the front yard of a residence.
Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of “kidnapping for the purpose of a sex crime and other sexual assault charges,” police stated in the release.
His bail has been set at $1 million.
