Baldwin Park Resident Found Guilty of Multiple Sexual Assaults

A one-time Brinks security guard from Baldwin Park was convicted today of sexually assaulting three prostitutes on separate occasions in Orange County, including Christmas Eve 2011.

Jurors deliberated for about a day before convicting Jose Luis Capacete, 40, of Baldwin Park, of multiple sexual assault charges. He faces up to 150 years to life in prison, with sentencing scheduled for Aug. 2.

Capacete, who had been applying for jobs as a police officer and who has relatives in law enforcement, would wield a stun gun and tie up the women he assaulted, Deputy District Attorney Keith Burke said.

He was caught after mistakenly flinging his receipt for gas, along with cash, at the prostitute he picked up on Christmas Eve on Harbor Boulevard and sexually assaulted, Burke said.

Capacete subsequently made incriminating statements to Santa Ana police officers, who, in searching his van and home, found cell phones he took from victims so they would not call police on him, Burke said.

When questioned about the Christmas Eve rape, Capacete told a detective, "I did tie her up,'' while adding, "I want to man up. I've been carrying this around with me,'' according to Burke.

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

Investigators also recovered a stun gun 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 said.

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 stun gun, Burke said. Capacete drove the woman to another location in Garden Grove, where he forced her to have anal sex, the prosecutor said.

The woman provided a license plate number to investigators, but she inadvertently 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 the defenda t approached her, they had consensual sex for money with no issue, the prosecutor 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. When she again said she wanted the money upfront, "he loses it, asking her, `Why are you rushing me?''', the prosecutor said.

Capacete pulled out a rope, tied her hands behind her back, pulled out a stun gun and forced himself on her, Burke said, then drove her to another location and sexually assaulted her again.

The woman reported the assault to police in October 2011 before there was media coverage on the case, but said she did not want 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.

Capacete was convicted of two counts of sodomy by force, and one count each of forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object, and forcible rape, all felonies, and a misdemeanor count of simple battery. Jurors also found true sentence-enhancing allegations of tying and binding victims, kidnapping and for crimes against multiple victims.

- City News Service