SAN DIEGO
–
Police said a 29-year-old man arrested Thursday night is a serial rapist responsible for at least three sexual assaults in six days.
Deandre Smith was taken into custody when police saw him driving a car stolen from a rape victim Tuesday night in University Heights, San Diego police Lt. Carolyn Kendrick said.
Smith is being held at the San Diego Central Jail without bail on a probation violation. He has prior convictions for narcotics, theft and sexual assault, police said.
Smith is expected to be charged next week with numerous felonies, including multiple sexual assaults and burglary charges, as well as auto theft, police spokeswoman Mónica Muñoz said.
In the University Heights case, a 55-year-old woman was sleeping in her home on Florida Street near El Cajon Boulevard about 11 p.m. Tuesday when Smith entered through an unlocked front door, police said. The assault lasted an hour.
At 2:30 a.m. Thursday, Smith allegedly climbed through an unlocked side window of a home on Robinson Avenue near Park Boulevard in Hillcrest. He is accused of sexually assaulting a 69-year-old woman for nearly four hours. Police were called after the attacker ran out the front door.
Police also have accused Smith of sexually assaulting a 44-year-old woman Sept. 7 for several hours at Robb Field in Ocean Beach.
In that case, the victim met Smith on 30th Street near University Avenue and went to the Ocean Beach park with him, police said. Smith also is accused of stealing the woman's car, which was later recovered in Oceanside.
Investigators are looking at Smith in a case involving a fourth female victim. Police said an Aug. 31 sexual assault, on Iowa Street near University Avenue in North Park, was similar to the others.
The victims were selected at random, Kendrick said.
“I believe it was just an opportunity,” she said. “They were lone females in cottages or single-story homes on ground floors, with . . . nobody else home.”
Kendrick said investigators realized they were dealing with a series of sexual assaults after they noticed similarities between descriptions given by victims in the University Heights and Hillcrest assaults.
“The methods of operation were very similar in nature. The ages of the victims were similar in nature,” she said. “The way he approached his entry into the houses, which was an unlocked front door and an unlocked rear window. And he remained at the residences for some time.”
Undercover and uniformed patrol officers went to North Park, University Heights and Hillcrest on Thursday night to look for the stolen 1998 Ford Escort. It didn't take long to spot it.
“They were out there in the radius, waiting for this individual to return, which we felt he was going to do,” Kendrick said. “And he did.”
Patrol officers saw Smith driving the Escort at El Cajon Boulevard and Orange Avenue and pulled it over on Howard Street. Smith was arrested without incident.
“I believe we did prevent potentially another sexual assault or another crime,” Kendrick said.
Staff writer Tony Manolatos contributed to this report.
Karen Kucher: (619) 293-1350; karen.kucher@uniontrib.com
