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Criminal Records - Most Wanted |
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Profile |
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Name: Arnulfo Vargas
(Bennett Sebastian Vargas, Bennett S. Vargas)
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Sex: Male |
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Race: Hispanic |
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Age Now: 39 |
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Height: 5'11" |
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Weight: 280 lbs |
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Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Black
May have shaved his head.
May have grown a mustache or goatee. |
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Eyes (Color and Correction): Brown |
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Wanted for :
Sexual Assault, Los Angeles, CA
Felony Rape, Los Angeles, CA;
Mar 01, 2000
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Location(s) |
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Last Seen : Tijuana, Mexico |
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Possible Location : Merced, CA
Tracy, CA
Tijuana, Mexico
Los Angeles County, CA
Oakland, CA
Ensenada, Mexico
1/11/05 UPDATE:
Vargas reportedly bought a 1990 Mazda B2200 pick-up truck (CA License 4D02447). Police believe Vargas was headed to Ensenada, Mexico.
The Mazda was last seen headed south on Interstate 5 going into Tijuana just beyond California's San Ysidro checkpoint at the Mexican border. |
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Last Known : Montebello, CA |
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Traits |
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Case Story |
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Cops Say They've Identified L.A.'s "Riverbed Rapist" |
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They call him "The Riverbed Rapist" because this serial rapist comes out of the darkness of the night to kidnap and rape unsuspecting women in the shadow of the Los Angeles River. He's been connected to seven rapes over the past three years. Now police say they know who he is: Arnulfo Vargas, 35, a part-time construction worker.
The LAPD says Vargas targets women at bus stops or walking alone, then approaches his victims in his pickup truck and offers them a ride. Once these women are inside the vehicle, cops say Vargas drives them to a secluded location -- and rapes them On more than one occasion, police say that after attacking them, Vargas drove off leaving his victim naked and alone.
In September 2004, cops say a victim managed to get a partial license plate number of the truck that was long associated with the Riverbed Rapist. They say it belonged to Vargas. Cops pulled Vargas over, and questioned him. But they didn't have enough evidence to charge him. Then, Vargas, his wife and young child disappeared. Inside Vargas' home, police say, they obtained the DNA evidence they needed to charge him with the series of rapes. |
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Tracking Vargas |
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Cops believed Vargas may have run to the Oakland, California area. In fact, his pickup truck -- the same one cops say he used in his abductions -- was spotted in the driveway of one of Vargas' relatives. When police went back to check on it, the truck was gone.
Another location the cops are taking a close look at is Tracy, California. In late October, 2004, Vargas' wife, Annamel, and the couple's five-year-old daughter were involved in a serious car wreck in Tracy. The minivan in which they were riding rolled over. They were taken to a local hospital and treated for their injuries. Then, they vanished again. Vargas was not involved in the accident, but police believe he has never been far from his family since going on the run-- in fact, they think Vargas' wife is travelling with him.
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Vargas' Truck Located - But Where Is He? |
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On Thursday, November 4, 2004, the California Highway Patrol received a call about an abandoned vehicle along the side of a highway in the city of Merced. When officers arrived, they found a white pickup truck. The plates were still on it -- and when cops ran their routine check, they discovered it was Arnulfo Vargas' truck. Cops don't know if Vargas abandoned the truck because of the increasing heat on him or if it just broke down. They seemed to be out of clues.
But cops got a break when an AMW radio listener called in. It turns out the tipster was a distant relative of Vargas and was able to tell cops Vargas had recently purchased a new Mazda truck. The tipster even gave cops the new license plate number. |
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