Baldwin Park Man on Trial "Tied Up and Raped 3 Prostitutes", Prosecutors Said

A Brinks Armored Car company guard wielding a Taser tied up and raped three prostitutes on separate occasions in Orange County, including Christmas Eve 2011, a prosecutor told jurors today.

Jose Luis Capacete, 40, of Baldwin Park, made incriminating statements to Santa Ana officers, who, in searching his van and home, found cell phones he took from the prostitutes so they would not call police on him, Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke alleged.   

Capacete was first arrested when a woman, who was working on Harbor Boulevard on Dec. 24, 2011, accused him of raping her, Burke said.   

The prosecutor alleged that Capacete told a detective, "I did tie her up,'' while adding, "I want to man up. I've been carrying this around with me.''   

Police found a rope in his van with the woman's DNA on it, Burke said.

Investigators also recovered a Taser and a bag of six cell phones in the defendant's home, the prosecutor said.   

Investigators began looking for more potential victims when Capacete told them, "I don't know why I keep snapping on these girls,'' according to Burke.

When questioned about the bag of cell phones, Capacete said they belonged to prostitutes and that he took them because he did not want them to call police on him, Burke alleged.   

Police issued a bulletin to area authorities about Capacete, prompting a call from a Homeland Security agent, who said a prostitute who worked on Harbor Boulevard had complained in August 2011 that she was raped, the prosecutor said.   

The woman said they had consensual sex for money, but "there was a disagreement'' when Capacete asked for other "services'' not covered in their agreement, Burke said.   

Capacete asked the woman, "Have you ever been kidnapped?'' before tying her up and threatening her with a Taser, Burke alleged. Capacete drove the woman to another location in Garden Grove, where he allegedly forced her to have anal sex.   

The woman provided a license plate number to investigators, but she reversed the order of a few numbers, Burke said.   

After seeing media reports about the allegations in February of last year, another woman came forward, Burke said. That woman, who was also working on Harbor Boulevard, initially declined to do business with Capacete because she felt there was something "sketchy'' about the situation, Burke said.

The next time Capacete approached her, they had consensual sex for money with no issue, he said.    The third time he picked up the woman, she told him he had to pay in advance, so Capacete stopped at an ATM to get cash, Burke said. The prosecutor alleged that when they arrived at another location, she again said she wanted the money upfront and ``he loses it, asking her, `Why are you rushing me?'''   

Capacete allegedly pulled out a rope, tied her hands behind her back, pulled out a Taser and forced himself on her, Burke said. The defendant drove her to another location and sexually assaulted her again, Burke alleged.   

The woman reported the alleged assault to police in October 2011 before there was media coverage on the case, but said she did not wish to press charges, Burke said. When she saw the media reports, she changed her mind, he said.
One night when the woman saw Capacete driving on Harbor Boulevard, she jotted down the license plate of his van and sent it to herself via a text message, Burke said.    

In all of the cases, Capacete had difficulty getting aroused and made the women face away from him as he gave them back their clothes and belongings while keeping their phones, Burke alleged.   

Defense attorney Paul Supple asked jurors "to keep an open mind'' while hearing evidence, saying the woman who said she was raped on Christmas Eve initially "lied'' to police, giving investigators a false name and saying she was out with friends partying that night.   

She falsely told police she was kidnapped by Capacete after she left a party and was out buying cigarettes, Supple alleged. Later, "she told a different story'' to a detective, according to Supple.

The woman who told Homeland Security that she was raped did not volunteer that information until she "was a suspect in a crime,'' Supple alleged, while the the third alleged victim waited six months to contact police, he said.  

"After you receive all of the evidence, I will ask you to find Mr. Capacete is not guilty... based on insufficient evidence,'' Supple said.

Capacete is charged with single counts of rape and forced oral copulation and two counts each of forced sodomy and sexual penetration by a foreign object.

- City News Service