Police arrest man in Eagle Rock kidnap and rape

Los Angeles police have arrested a man who allegedly kidnapped, raped and robbed a woman who had been waiting at an Eagle Rock bus stop, authorities said this morning. The arrest came after a monthlong search that resulted in a DNA match, they said.

Sergio Hernandez Linares, 25, of Los Angeles was booked Thursday afternoon on suspicion of rape, said Capt. William Murphy of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division.

On July 26 about 5:30 a.m., Linares allegedly kidnapped a 23-year-old woman waiting at a bus stop at the corner of Colorado and Eagle Rock boulevards, forcing her into his blue Honda Civic and driving her next to Eagle Rock High School, where he raped and robbed her before fleeing, Murphy said.

Police put all their patrols on alert, put together a composite sketch, fliers and held press conferences requesting the public’s help. The city put up a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.

“We got leads, the public was calling in leads, and we followed up on each and every one of those,” Murphy said.

At the beginning of this month, patrol officers spotted a blue Civic driven by Linares, who matched the description they had. Linares had an outstanding warrant for vandalism, so police brought him to the station and booked him on the warrant, Murphy said. Linares, who was swabbed for DNA, was later released from custody while authorities continued to investigate the rape allegation.

“It looked very good and promising, but there were literally probably more than a double-digit number of suspects we brought in,” Murphy said. “If you go look for a blue Civic, you’re going to find a lot of them.”

The DNA analysis took about two weeks to complete. At about 4 p.m. Thursday, police got confirmation from the scientific investigation division that “we got a hit on that guy,” Murphy said.

Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Thursday, police arrested Linares at his workplace, Murphy said.

“This is great news, and the detectives did an excellent job,” said Councilman Jose Huizar, whose district includes Eagle Rock. “But the real credit must go to the actual victim, because she gave an excellent description of not only the suspect, but the suspect’s vehicle, which was critical.”

Huizar said Eagle Rock is a relatively safe neighborhood, but residents were made nervous by news of the rape.

“The community of Eagle Rock is thrilled,” Huizar said. “When something like this happens, it really strikes at the whole community, and we’re happy to have this individual behind bars.”

The majority of rapes are committed by an acquaintance, according to experts and law enforcement authorities.

“What he’s facing is a life sentence. Short of murder, this is it, this is the top of the food chain for crimes,” Murphy said.

Linares is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail, Murphy said. A news conference to discuss details of the arrest is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today.

 tami.abdollah@latimes.com