LOS ANGELES – The Latest on the arrest of a serial rapist in Southern California (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
Los Angeles police say they arrested a serial rapist when two detectives saw a victim who had fought him off fall from his car.
Police said at a news conference Wednesday that 35-year-old Ferdinand Ervin Flowers of Long Beach had robbed his latest victim at gunpoint in his car and had tried to force her to have sex when she fought him off on Friday in Lynwood.
She fell out of the car and was spotted by two detectives who were conducting an investigation in the area that was related to the case. They arrested Flowers on suspicion of kidnapping and sexual assault. He is suspected in the rape of 14 women.
Police couldn't immediately say whether Flowers has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.
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12:15 p.m.
A law enforcement official says a suspect has been arrested after at least a dozen female sex workers were raped at gunpoint in the Los Angeles area since 2014.
The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't permitted to discuss the matter publicly before a formal announcement expected later Wednesday.
The official did not immediately provide the name of the suspect or detail potential charges.
Authorities said the suspect attacked a woman in December in Compton and had also been linked that to 11 other cases.
Police said the man typically solicits women for sex in South Los Angeles and then pulls out a gun when they get in his car. He then drives them to a secluded spot and sexually assaults them.
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