A Long Beach man was charged Monday with kidnapping and raping two teenage girls in South Los Angeles one month apart.
Samuel Alexander Vasquez, 29, appeared in a downtown courtroom and pleaded not guilty to two counts each of kidnapping to commit rape and forcible rape and one count each of forcible oral copulation and assault with a deadly weapon.
Vasquez is due back in court Dec. 6, when a date is expected to be set for a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
Based on the prosecution’s request, bail was increased from $1 million to $5.03 million for Vasquez, who was arrested Thursday and faces up to life in prison if convicted as charged.
The first attack occurred on the evening of Sept. 27. A 16-year-old girl was walking home near 75th and Figueroa streets when a suspect approached her and forced her into his vehicle at knifepoint. He drove her another location, where he raped her, police said.
On Oct. 28 during daylight hours, a 14-year-old girl was walking home near 70th and Flower streets when she was forced into a vehicle at knifepoint. Her attacker held a knife on her as he drove away, parked his vehicle and raped her, police said.
–City News Service