Authorities are searching for a man who is considered “a threat to the public” after he was linked to several separate assaults in Los Angeles.
According to the LASD, 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia is wanted in connection with six assaults across the L.A. area, including a 67-year-old woman who was brutally beaten in her garden in East Los Angeles on Saturday.
The woman, identified as Rosalina Martinez, was working in her yard at 6:15 a.m. Saturday when Garcia punched her in the face several times and pulled down her pants and underwear. In an interview with KTLA, Martinez said that she believes Garcia tried to rape her.
The assault spree Garcia is connected with began on July 10, when he sexually assaulted a victim and attempted to remove her clothing as she was walking under the 110 Freeway near Olympic Boulevard and L.A. Live Way, police said.
The following morning, Garcia approached another female victim from behind, slapped her back and fled the area near Chick Hearn Court and Georgia Street in South Park, police said.
He is alleged to have committed several more assaults on Saturday. At 9:20 a.m. Garcia knocked a female victim unconscious and robbed her as she walked home from church in the 1300 block of South Alvarado Street in Pico Union, officials said.
Approximately 15 minutes later, he sexually assaulted a fourth victim as she was searching through the trunk of her car in the 1300 block of South Burlington Avenue, authorities said.
Garcia is listed at 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 180 pounds. He was seen wearing a brown sweatshirt, grey shorts, white shoes with red laces, and a black and red Gucci satchel in cell phone video taken shortly after he attacked Martinez.
Jail records indicate that the 21-year-old suspect has been arrested several times in the past; he was last booked on suspicion of felony assault two years ago but was eventually released.
Anyone with information on Garcia’s whereabouts is urged to contact the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s station at 323-264-4151. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
