ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ LEYVA
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Man suspected in freeway rape arrested
Forensic evidence led investigators to man Tuesday night, sheriff’s spokesman says.
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
The Orange County Register
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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Police have arrested the man they believe raped a woman inside her car on the side of the I-5 freeway after he offered to help her with her stranded vehicle Saturday morning.
“He’s off the street,” said Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino.
Authorities identified the man in custody as 25-year-old Alejandro Martinez Leyva, a San Juan Capistrano resident.
Officers served a search warrant at Leyva’s home Tuesday night at about 10 p.m. at 26492 Calle San Luis, said Amormino.
“Investigators have been working around the clock,” Amormino said. “Our forensics lab worked around the clock.”
Outside the home where Leyva, a gardener, was arrested, investigators found a vehicle matching the description given by the 24-year-old victim: a dark green or blue older sedan with a trunk spoiler and a baby seat in the back.
In San Diego County, the victim identified Leyva from a photo lineup, Amormino said.
Physical evidence left behind at the scene of the crime helped lead detectives to the suspect, Amormino said, although he would not specify to what that evidence is.
Physical evidence was also retrieved at Leyva’s home.
The rape occurred early Saturday morning when the victim was involved in a solo-crash on the southbound lanes of the I-5 in San Juan Capistrano, authorities said.
A tow truck changed lanes in front of her, and when she applied her brakes on the rain-slicked road, the car spun out of control, damaging the driver’s side of the car.
The victim was calling a friend on her cell phone at about 2:30 a.m. when the sedan pulled up in front of her car.
Authorities said Leyva pretended to be a Good Samaritan and offered to help the woman, but when she refused, he threw the phone from her hand and forced her into the front seat of the car, where he raped her.
About an hour later, a friend of the victim was combing the I-5 freeway looking for her and the disabled vehicle, said California Highway Patrol Officer Denise Quesada.
The friend contacted a CHP officer, who was making a stop along the freeway and asked for assistance helping her friend.
At 3:39 a.m., the officer and the friend found the victim inside the car, wearing only a black shirt.
Leyva is currently in custody with an immigration hold, Amormino said.
Contact the writer: shernandez@ocregister.com or 949-454-7361
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