A 48-year-old man pleaded not guilty Friday to attempting to rape a woman he had just met outside of the Santa Ana police station last month.
Apolonio Alcala is charged with a single counts each of kidnapping to commit rape, kidnapping to commit robbery, attempted robbery and attempted forcible rape. The criminal complaint alleges a lengthy criminal record of convictions in Riverside, Los Angeles and Sacramento counties.
Alcala pleaded guilty to robbery in Orange County in October 2011 and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to court records.
He pleaded guilty to theft with a prior conviction and burglary in April of 1993 in Orange County and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to court records.
Alcala was at the Santa Ana police station on Feb. 12 to register as a sex offender, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The victim, who had just visited her son in the jail, saw him outside the police station appear to be “distraught,” Bertagna said.
“He was visibly shaking and he asked her for help,” Bertagna said. “He told her he was diabetic and needed a ride to the hospital because he was in bad shape.”
So the woman led him to her car and began driving when about a minute later the defendant “put his hand on her hand and said, `Look, I’m not going to hurt you, but we’re not going to the hospital. Go where I tell you,” Bertagna alleged.
The defendant allegedly demanded sex and money, Bertagna said.
That prompted the woman to drive erratically, running a red light at 6th Street and Ross Avenue and pulling into a construction site at a high rate of speed before slamming on the brakes, Bertagna said.
Alcala allegedly scrambled to get out of the car and fled, Bertagna said.
The woman told her son what happened and he alerted jail guards, Bertagna said.
Police reviewed surveillance video outside of the police station and arrested Alcala, Bertagna said. The alleged victim identified the suspect in a police lineup, Bertagna said.
Alcala was ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing in the Central Justice Center on May 21.