A 33-year-old man was behind bars Tuesday on charges of kidnapping and raping an ex-girlfriend at knifepoint in Costa Mesa.
Jorge Luis Epitacioperez was charged Aug. 25 with kidnapping, rape, corporal injury and criminal threats, all felonies. He also faces sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon.
The defendant, who was arrested Sunday, is accused of attacking the woman on July 13.
The woman said in a restraining order filed in court in July that the two had gone out for a drink when he “started to verbally insult me about past arguments.” She said the defendant “pushed me from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat and slammed my face on the door” before threatening to kill her, according to the restraining order request.
She said she managed to free herself and run away but he caught up to her, yanked her hair and “slammed me against the car” before forcing her to drive him elsewhere, where he is accused of raping her in the backseat.
The restraining order request was dismissed in August when no one showed up to court for a hearing, according to court records.