Police arrest rape suspect

A Costa Mesa man is scheduled to be arraigned today and charged with

raping two women who lived in his apartment complex, police said.

Jose Fernandez Lopez, 32, was arrested Friday night outside his

apartment in the 600 block of West Baker Street, after DNA evidence

connected him to the alleged crimes, police said.

“The arrest was a culmination of several months of investigation,”

Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Bob Ciszek said.

Lopez lived in the Newport Village apartments, the same complex

where a 46-year-old woman was raped in September 2004.

A 65-year-old woman was raped there in May 2005.

The women, who lived alone, were assaulted inside their apartments

in the early morning hours.

The rapist entered the apartments, both on the ground floor, once

through an unlocked door and once through an open window, police

said.

After the rapes were reported, detectives obtained 125 voluntary

DNA samples from men living in the complex.

DNA taken from the victims was matched to that of Lopez, who had

lived there for four years, police said.

Lopez is being held on $250,000 bail at the Costa Mesa city jail.