Woman is raped in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa police on Friday were looking for a man who raped a 20-year-old woman in his car Thursday in the 100 block of East Wilson Street.

The woman, whose name is being withheld, is a resident of Amarillo, Texas, police said. She was staying at a hotel in the 3100 block of Newport Boulevard and had started to walk to the TJ Maxx store at 2300 Harbor Blvd., about three miles away.

Between noon and 1 p.m., she stopped at a bus bench when a balding black man in his early 20s pulled up in a light gray, four-door car, possibly a BMW with a black stripe or molding on the side, according to police. A police report described the man as 5-feet-5 to 5-feet-6; 145 pounds. He was wearing a light gray T-shirt over a white T-shirt with baggy blue jeans and brown shoes.

After driving the woman to the TJ Maxx parking lot, the man stopped the car and began choking her, police said. She lost consciousness, and the man drove the car from the parking lot. The woman later woke up to find the man sexually assaulting her. He let her get out of the car, and then she discovered she was on Wilson Street.

A friend of the woman picked her up and took her to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where she was treated for minor injuries and released, Costa Mesa Sgt. Bob Phillips said.

Police are still investigating, Phillips said, adding, “I would advise [people], don’t get into a car with anyone you don’t know, unless it’s public transportation.”

Police ask anyone with information to call Costa Mesa Police Det. Bob Fate at (714) 754-5313.