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Los Angeles police are seeking additional victims of knife-wielding serial rapists who have been accused of attacking at least nine people across Los Angeles County over the past 20 years, with the latest incident reported last month on Figueroa Street.
Suspect Andre Cobbs is also said to be behind at least four robbers.
Cobbs, 40, was arrested after the February 19th assault of a sex worker near the intersection of South Figueroa and West 80th Avenue, LAPD chief Jim McDonnell said at a police committee meeting Tuesday. Cobbs puts the victim in his car, where he sexually assaulted her, the chief said.
When Cobbs chased away, the woman managed to escape, McDonnell said.
“Despite the trauma, the victim was able to take photos of both the suspect and his car,” he said.
Based on that information, LAPD’s 77th Street Division officers arrested Cobbs and presented the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for claims, but it was said that further investigation was justified, McDonnell said.
After uploading Cobbs’ DNA to Codis (the FBI’s national combined DNA indexing system), the LAPD chief said investigators have linked him to other sexual assaults and robberies over the past 20 years.
A warrant for Cobbs was issued on March 18th and booked at the 77th Street Police Station prison on the same day. There, prison records are shown to be in custody in place of $1.7 million in bonds. His first court appearance is scheduled for April 1, records show.
McDonnell said the attacks were spreading throughout the county, with five occurring within LA city range, with others occurring in Long Beach and other locations including COVID-19.
Police said Cobbs often use knives and at least some of the targeted people were sex workers picked up at known prostitution hotspots. McDonnell said detectives are continuing to investigate the case and are trying to identify possible victims.
In 2009, court records show that Andre Cobbs’ shark man was accused of stealing and assaulting a sex worker in Lynwood while walking to her car.
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