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Police say a man dubbed the "Teardrop Rapist," who is linked to at least 35 attacks on women in the southern Los Angeles area, may have struck again.
Since attacks began in 1996, multiple composite sketches of the suspect show a changing face, but his mode of operation hasn’t changed, authorities said.
"He will approach them. He tries to make conversation with them. He'll pull out a weapon,” Los Angeles police Detective Jesse Alvarado said.
Investigators say the man strikes in the early morning hours, often before the sun comes up.
The most recent attack happened 5:30 a.m. June 15 in southeast of downtown LA.
Read more, see video on the Teardrop Rapist on NBCLosAngeles.com
A 29-year-old woman was approached by a man who attempted to converse with her and then produced a handgun and forced her to walk into an alley where he attempted to sexually assault her, police said.
A vehicle came into the alley and the suspect fled on foot.
"He is the type of person that will flee the minute he believes he may be seen by someone," Alvarado said.
Detectives said the sexual assaults have happened across a broad swath of the city -- within six police divisions and in an unincorporated area. Many of the incidents have occured in South Los Angeles and Koreatown.
In 33 of the 35 cases, Latina women have been the victims.
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In April, the Los Angeles Police Department released nine different sketches of men described by victims in similar attacks. Many of the sketches show one or two teardrop tattoos under one eye.
At that time, police said the most recent assault was in November 2011. The new incident has neighbors frightened.
"I feel scared especially since we have a lot of little kids on this block," says Margarita Martinez, a South Los Angeles resident.
Martinez lives only a block away from where the suspect is believed to have hit last. Officers say the rapist has assaulted girls and women ranging from 14 to 41 years old.
"Maybe I'll carry a shank or pepper spray," Martinez said.
Detectives said the rapist is leaving behind DNA that has already linked him to 10 sexual assaults. They are hopeful word of mouth will lead to a break in the case.
"This individual is known by someone in the community. It's going to take someone to say this does look like my neighbor," Alvarado said.
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Leave a Comment:
A teardrop tatoo is a very specific, visible marking. You'd think that would make it a bit easier . . . since 96 this has been going on?! Sounds like the guy has a target on his face.
Tear drop tatoos are very common among people who have been to prison. So, I imagine there are quite a few people in L.A. that have them.
If he is leaving behind DNA and he has prison tattoos, shouldn't it be easier to identify him?
Yes one teardrop for each year served? Or maybe I watch too many movies ; )
The teardrop tatt started in prison, but now-a-days every "wanna be" thug has one too.
Tear drops typically represent one of two things; Years served in jail or people you have killed. One of my uncles used the tear drops to represent the people he killed and the spider web on his elbow for the years he served. The connecting lines in the spider web represent each year you have been in lock up. Everyone is different and above statements will vary for others.
I had a client some years ago that had the tear drop tattoos, hers signified the children she lost due to pregnancy complications.
My tattooer always said she would never tattoo above the neck line or below the ankles/wrists because they are gaudy and are for the attention seekers. LOL, My tattooer was solid ink but i'll be dammed she didn't have any in the places she wouldn't tattoo.
R2121, shrimpy little woman-hating latino guy with prison tear tattoo ... only @ a million of those in L.A./CA.
A teardrop tat in LA would narrow the suspect pool down to 250K criminals and bangers.
In 33 of the 35 cases, Latina women have been the victims.
Just look for the guy with no taste in women.
Thanks Calico this helps : ) Kevin...Troll somewhere else you freak.
reminds me of Con Air..that guy Johnny sixteen ...he had tear drops...
Kevin InNY:
If ignorance truly is bliss then you must be overjoyed....
I thought is was Johnny 23 and he tattooed a heart for each rape victim. Not really relevant to the conversation but the movie was a good one I thought. They would call him Johnny 600 if they knew the truth he claims.
Srich... ahhh, another pretty little blonde girl that thinks men actually listen to her because she has something intelligent to say. Ya, you do watch too many movies.......
hispanic male between 5'2-5'6 , 130-170 pounds with a teardrop tat. good luck that only describes about a million people in so cal. this guy might never be caught unless police or a passerby happen to catch him in the act.
btw tear drop tats usually signifies a freind or loved one that has died.
Catholics are forbidden to mark themselves up with tattoos as their bodies are GOD's property. I guess this wasn't made clear enough to Latinos who claim to be Catholic but break the BIG TEN on a regular basis. By the way, if you kill somebody, you will burn in hell.
How any guy could get aroused by raping baffles me.
My wife is only aroused by $$$$... anybody got some spare change?
He probably uses a sharpie then washes it off..
I am tired of Idiots
Destiny, I know lots of Catholics with tatoos. I have never heard of that.
I guess I need to go back and read again but did it say his race?? Was he Latino? I assume he speaks Spanglish as his victims are Hispanic.
The teardrop is a decoy. He puts it on with ink so it can easily be removed later. I agree with Lusitania.
Why doesn't the tattoo artist come forward and identify this jerk? How many people have teardrop tattoos?
Many....it's a prison tat.
I am sure a bunch of people have them. I am in chicago and alot of the mexican and puerta rican bangers have them. Most get them in prison or from one of their buddies......most tattoo artists in a reputable shop wont do them or any other gang tattoos.
Ridiculous... im a tattoo artist and couldnt identify any tattoo that i had done before 1996 teardrop or not
If they were real tattoos they would have caught him, they have to be stick ons, something he can remove after he is done.
Are you people serious? You think this guy is the only person in that city with a tear drop tattoo? Wow... I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
@Junior-2033967... That is what I was thinking. No better way to mislead law enforcement than to have some legit looking temporary tattoo while you are doing your dirty work. But if this guy is just after the thrill or whatever the reason why rapists do what they do then who knows if he is smart enough to try and mislead authorities. With all the easy women out there why does one need to rape. It is sick but it must be some twisted mental sense of power. I hope he comes across the wrong little mamacita who knocks the @!$%# out of him with his own weapon.
Tattoos remind me of the Holocaust.
Junior and ThankYouSoldiers, agreed.
Most victims would remember none, one or two tats on the monster's face.
It might be racial profiling stopping hispanic men with tear drop tats. The ACLU will raise cane for this. Guy needs to be shot.
A rape suspect in LA that has one or two teardrops under one eye???? BOY that sure narrows it down! Can't be anymore than 2....maybe 3 suspects, TOPS!
"The assailant is described as a Latino with brown eyes and brown hair, standing 5-feet-2 to 5-feet-6 and weighing 130 to 170 pounds"....... Yeah, that teardrop tattoo really narrows things down.
Or the tear drop tattoo could be a diversion that the guy paints on his face before he goes out to prowl.
Oooh, you're a devious mo fo, aren't you?
That's what I was thinking.
But I mean that in a nice way.
Wow...smart thinking!
teardrop tat'd hispanic guy in LA? that narrows it down to about 500,000 people that aren't already in jail.
In the sketch he's wearing a hoodie.......does that help?
This low-life better watch it as some women out there are pretty tough, such as MMA fighters & the like. It'd be cool if he got the crap walloped out of him before the police arrest his arse!
Seems to have been doing this since at least '96. Obviously those women you speak of are very far and few between. In LA on top of that. That city has some of the prissiest women in the country. The can barely stand dirt let alone sweat and blood that's required to learn how to fight.
I hope some woman does take this dog out back and put him down in the most horrific way. However, I don't see that being the case.
Bankers should all have teardrop tattoo's. Lol!
I bet this deviant will shed real teardrops when he finally gets caught.
What I recommend is that when they catch him, they hand him over to his victims. Give each of his victims a slightly less than sharp blade and let them decide which body parts he gets to keep before they hand him over to the police.
Hey, SFC -
That is really Old Testament thinking. I lile it!
This is the sad part for CA residents...""Maybe I'll carry a shank or pepper spray," Martinez said". The criminals have guns. She has to try to fight a rapist with a gun, using a shank or pepper spray. Wouldn't it be better if CA took off its blinders and let law abiding folks carry concealed? Then maybe the next victim he tries to come after can save the tax payers some money and put some extra holes in this piece of trash.
Don't know where you are getting your info but CA residents can carry concealed weapons if they obtain a permit from their local police or sheriffs department. The only state in the union where you cannot obtain a CCW is Illinois.
#4
Yeah donate 500k to the sherrifs re-election campaign and you can get a ccw in cali.
Too bad the Kalifornatifcation laws are against the citizens of that republic. If they had a choice to protect themselves according to the 2nd Amendment there may not be a Cereal Rapist. If the victums are illegals maybe they should go back to their home country where they are safe.
I'm sorry, did you mean serial rapist? A cereal rapist would be doing corn flakes!
Actually, cheerios would be a more likely victim.
I wonder what country that CEREAL Rapist comes from ??
Post, Kellogg or Nabisco ? (¬‿¬) flex your mind a little harder flexmind
it's Serial Rapist dude ! hahaha
Cereal...wow some of you people are BRILLIANT!
Evokes Green Jelly: Cereal Killer!
The next time he tries to attack a woman, she should give him a good kick between the legs. That should really give him something to cry about, since he loves teardrops so much.
Let's see you try to kick someone between the legs when he's got a gun on you. There's always a lot of talk, but when it comes down to it, almost no one is actually going to try anything against an armed person.
It is possible to kick someone between the legs when they have a gun on you. Ask anyone who's trained in martial arts, or any soldier who's trained in hand-to-hand combat.
Pepper spray the m++++r-f++++er, THEN kick him in the nuts. Repeatedly.
This guy is targeting women who most-likely have no training. Not to mention most people freeze up when in a situation they've never been in before. And staring down the barrel of a gun is probably going to be one of those.
Not always effective , plus if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction you could pepper spray yourself.
The nut thing might work if he is not wearing a cup ,better to kick him in the knee real hard and run. Then make a anonymous call to the police to pick him up. I say anonymous because he may sue you in this liberal world we live in.
There are lots of slightly illegal ways of protecting ones self that might serve you better , spray paint , wasp spray,
I live in Florida , there is sand everywhere even that is blinding.even a small air horn that you can buy at walmart used at football games or by small boaters blasted in his ear would scare off most thugs .
Probably in a gang, he hide's so well!!!!!!
probably in a gang, he elude's real well. nobody'll rat him out!!!!!
If I were a women in his target area, I would immediately go out and buy something to defend myself,,,taser or pepper spray,,,,or try to stay in groups,,,sounds like this coward wouldn't bother you if you had help nearby,,,,hope they find him and when he goes to jail, let him be on the receiving end,,,no pun intended,,,,
"Maybe I'll carry a shank..."
Am I the only one that facepalmed a little at this?
My thought exactly! lol
Desert I did as well.. 0.o Ghetto went running across my mind as-well.. I am all for carrying something to protect yourself but shank is a little crude.. Isn't a shank a prison made stabby? Lol, I always wanted to say stabby in a post.
Calico, 1 thumb up for stabby!
Kind of topic but did the guy in the video flip the camera off?
Give me a 44 MAGNUM any day to PROTECT myself !
I agree, screw the pepper spray or taser. They're more apt to try to stop you from defending yourself when they know at worst they might have to deal with a little pain. Protect yourself and your community from filth like this - don't let anyone get away with attempted rape or murder. Snuff it out when you have the chance.
.
Over and over again about the stupid teardrop tattoo(s). Those tats are very common in that society therefore not a stand out marking.
LAPD is known for its brutality not its brain power so this guy may be out there for a long time.
sadly thats true for most cops with the good ones getting @!$%# dipped by the bad ones...I always said they were C students with a gun...
Rumor has it that his name in Manuel Lebor.
I heard he hangs out at the Home Depot.
I think by giving these criminals names like "tear droprapist" is a badge of honor within their gang or what ever and is an adrenalin rush to these guys and should be avoided. I know the press just loves the nick names.
Maybe they should give the rapist nick names like
tinyraptor rapist
Millimeter Peter rapist
microdick rapist
the big inch rapist
roll 'o dimes rapist
Little helmet head rapist
twig and berries rapist
nick names like that would be the opposite of an adrenalin rush .. ya think (¬‿¬)
you forgot needle dhick..
I did .. Thank you
and needle dhick..
The woman that fights back or somehow kills him will be thrown in jail.
In CA you're probably right. Maybe NY, too - we don't have any sort of castle laws, do we?
Can you fix the title of the article? It implies that this occurred in the state of LA, not the city of L.A.
As the president has said "...we must punish our enemies".
Really, you see LA police and you think Louisiana State Police?