Alleged California serial rapist charged with 14 counts, including attempted murder
12/10/2021 2:43 pm PST
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. (TCD) -- A 36-year-old man faces multiple charges for reportedly physically and/or sexually assaulting six different women in the Coachella Valley area from September 2020 to August 2021.
On Friday, Dec. 10, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office announced that Jose Manuel Martinez Garcia faces charges for attempted murder, forcible rape, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, and other sex-related counts.
According to KTLA-TV, Garcia possibly knew some of the victims, but he reportedly approached the others randomly when they were alone.
The District Attorney’s Office said Garcia strangled three victims to the point of unconsciousness and struck two victims with his truck. In one instance, a victim with a broken leg was “left injured in a ditch in Thermal for several days before being found and given medical assistance,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
Garcia was arrested on Oct. 5, 2021 and remains in custody without bail.
Garcia is reportedly a Mexican national who had lived in Coachella and the Bakersfield area prior to that.
Since Garcia lived outside Coachella Valley and because of the number of victims, investigators believe that he may have committed more crimes, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Garcia was scheduled to appear in court Friday, Dec. 10. He faces a potential life sentence in prison if convicted.
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