A pilot linked in the series of brutal attacks on women in Southern California has been arrested. Prosecutors said Monday that Robert Yucas allegedly choked his victims until they were unconscious and assaulted the women in bushes off a running trail.

According to the Associated Press, the 51-year-old pilot is now facing possible life in prison if convicted in the case filed in Orange County. 

Pilot Attacking Women in Southern California

Based on the filed case, Robert Yucas allegedly raped one of his victims and tried to sexually assault the other two women in Aliso Viejo, a city some 50 miles south of Los Angeles.

On Monday's news briefing to announce Yucas' arrest, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said authorities believe that there's a possibility that there were other victims not only in the U.S. but also abroad.

They suspected additional victims abroad because of the nature of the suspect's job as an international commercial cargo pilot. The suspect is now being held in Alaska after his arrest in Anchorage on Thursday.

He was arrested after he landed there following a return flight from China. His extradition to California is still pending, and the information about his attorney is still not available.

The Orange County Sheriff further noted that the pilot is also a suspect in other crimes in San Diego and Riverside counties. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said that the women were attacked off an Aliso Viejo running trail in 2020 and 2021.

The women were skateboarding, running, and walking in the area when they were attacked. Prosecutors said that Yucas allegedly put the women in chokeholds and dragged them into brush off the trail.

Barnes added that investigators identified the pilot after an anonymous tipster reported that officials in San Diego County obtained his DNA in a separate crime. 

The sheriff did not provide any information or specifics of the San Diego County incident but stated that the DNA matched with the samples collected during two of the Orange County attacks.

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Brutal Attacks in California 

During his first reported attack in Aliso Viejo on January 20, 2020, prosecutors said the pilot allegedly asked a 24-year-old woman who was skateboarding for directions. Authorities noted that when the woman pulled out her cellphone, Robert Yucas suddenly attacked her. 

Prosecutors said the attack resulted in her losing consciousness, and when she woke up, the pilot has already raped her.

During the second reported attack, a 32-year-old woman running in Aliso Viejo on April 2, 2020, was grabbed and attacked by Yucas. Luckily, the woman managed to fight him off and survived.

Last month, prosecutors said that Yucas allegedly grabbed a 41-year-old woman while walking on the trail. He then choked her, resulting in the victim becoming unconscious and waking up in the bushes with her pants pulled down.

Officials said that Yucas was also a former pilot in the Army, but investigators were still looking for his military record. 

Chief operating officer at Kalitta Air, Pete Sanderlin, told the Associated Press that the pilot has worked for the cargo airline for about two years.

Robert Yucas is now facing charges of assault, kidnapping, forcible rape, and attempted forcible rape.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

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