Archive

By Lookout Staff

October 3 -- A teenager who brutally attacked and raped a woman in her Santa Monica condominium last week was charged as an adult Tuesday.

Luis Mario Lopez, an Oxnard resident, faces nine felony charges including forcible rape, residential burglary and unlawfully taking the victim’s car, according to the Los Angeles District Attorneys office.

Lopez, a day laborer who turns 18 next week, is being held on $7 million bail pending arraignment October 9 at the Airport Branch Courthouse.

Santa Monica police arrested Lopez last Friday afternoon after he repeatedly attacked the 42-year-old woman at her home in the 1100 block of Princeton Avenue,

The victim suffered injuries including a broken nose during the attack, which took place over a four-hour period, according to Deputy District Attorney Lisa Houle.

Santa Monica Police Chief Tim Jackman called the attack "vicious and brutal” and said the victim was specifically targeted by her assailant, who hired him to do some handiwork at her home.

Evidence indicates that Lopez entered the victim's home through a doggie door some time Thursday morning and then attacked her when she returned home that night, authorities said.

When the victim arrived at 10 p.m., she found that her house had been ransacked, police said.

The assailant confronted her with a knife and tied her up, police said. After the attack, he took the victim’s ATM card and fled in her 2003 Mercedes convertible shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.

After arresting Lopez, police recovered evidence from the vehicle, as well as from his residence, linking him to the crime, police said.

Lopez faces multiple life prison terms if convicted, according to the District Attorney's Office.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information should call the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8427 (24 hours) or Detectives at (310) 458-8451 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.