A man suspected of brutally assaulting several women, including at least two elderly women, has been arrested in Mexico after a week-long search.
Sergio Andrew Garcia, 21, was taken into custody earlier this week after being located and returned to Los Angeles County, Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday.
Garcia was identified as a suspect after an attack on a 67-year-old woman gardening when he repeatedly punched her in the face and pulled down her pants.
Around the same time, the suspect also allegedly assaulted an 84-year-old woman who was just outside her home and standing near her car.
Before these attacks, Garcia is suspected of having committed at least five other assaults from July 10 to 15, including one in which a woman lost consciousness.
Sergio Andrew Garcia, 21, was taken into custody earlier this week after being located in Mexico and arrested in connection with a series of assaults in the Los Angeles area.
Rosalina Martinez (left) was brutally beaten while gardening in her Los Angeles yard on July 17. Angelica (right) was beaten as she stood by her car on the same day.
A manhunt for the suspect continued for more than a week until U.S. Marshals located Garcia in Mexico on Tuesday, police said.
He is currently facing charges of attempted murder, assault with intent to rape, and more. His bail was set by a judge at $4.06 million.
The first attack took place on July 17 outside the home of 67-year-old Rosalina Martinez.
Martinez was repeatedly punched in the face and dragged to the ground and suffered injuries including a broken nose as well as bruises and scratches.
Garcia allegedly approached Martinez from behind while she was working in her yard and started punching her over and over.
“I couldn’t do anything, he was very strong,” she said.
After punching her in the face, he pulled down his pants and underwear, police said.
“He was trying to rape me,” Martinez said in an interview after the attack.
The attack eventually ended after a neighbor noticed the commotion and scared the suspect away. He fled on foot before getting on a “fixie” bicycle and setting off again.
Martinez’s neighbors took video of the attacker at the scene after the beating
Martinez spoke with local outlets from her bed after the beatings injured her
On the same day, Garcia allegedly attacked another woman nearby.
Angelica, an 84-year-old Los Angeles resident, was beaten as her neighbor Jazmin Avila recounted ABC 7 the attack was horrible.
She was near her car, a few meters from her front door, when the man attacked.
“After she lost consciousness after he hit her, he dragged her through an empty space to the laundry room that way and continued the attack,” Avila said.
“He stole everything, everything in her purse and stole her car…she doesn’t have a car anymore,” Avila said.
Angelica was first hospitalized and then released but will have to be operated on.
“We’ve never had anything like it here. It’s crazy,” Avila said.
Garcia allegedly stole the woman’s car the next day before crashing it.
“It’s upsetting because she doesn’t bother anyone. She was just going to her car. She could be anyone’s grandmother,” the neighbor said.
An 84-year-old Los Angeles resident named Angelica (pictured) was allegedly attacked by Garcia while her neighbor Jazmin Avila told ABC 7 she was beaten on July 15
Details of the other attacks have yet to be released by police.
A motivation for the horrific assaults is unknown at this time.
Garcia has been arrested multiple times and was last convicted of felony assault two years ago.
