Los Angeles police are looking for other victims of the knife-wielding serial rapist who has been accused of attacking at least nine people in Los Angeles County over the past two decades, reporting the latest incident on Figueroa Street last month.
The suspect Andre Cobbs was allegedly robbed at least four times.
LAPD chief Jim McDonnell said at a police commission meeting Tuesday that Cobbs, 40, was arrested after a Feb. 19 attack on a sex worker at the intersection of South Figueroa and West 80th Streets. The Chief said Cobbs let the victim drive into his car, where he sexually assaulted her.
McDonald said the woman managed to escape when Cobbs drove away.
“Despite the trauma, the victim managed to take pictures of the suspect and his vehicle,” he said.
According to the information, officials at the LAPD 77th Street Division arrested Cobbs and introduced the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office but were told to assure a further investigation.
The LAPD chief said that it was uploading Cobbs’ DNA to Codis, the FBI’s National DNA Index System. LAPD chief said investigators linked him to other sexual assaults and robberies over the past two decades.
On March 18, an arrest warrant was issued to Cobbs and was booked at the 77th Street Police Department prison the same day. Prison records show he was still in custody in lieu of a $1.7 million margin. His initial court appearance is scheduled for April 1, records show.
McDonald said the attacks were spread across the county, with five of them happening within the limits of Los Angeles cities, while others occur in places like Long Beach and Corona.
Police say Cobbs often uses knife, with at least some targets picking up sex workers at known prostitution hotspots. McDonald said detectives are continuing to investigate the case and trying to identify any other possible victims.
In 2009, court records show that a man from Andre Cobbs was accused of robbing and assaulting a sex worker in Lynwood.
