Arrest Made In Sexual Assault Of Woman At Santa Ana Bus Stop
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — A suspect in the sexual assault of a woman at a bus bench in Santa Ana was arrested Thursday at his manufacturing job in Irvine, police say.
The violent attack was captured by an Orange County Transportation Authority bus camera Saturday night in the busy South Coast Metro area.
Nick Alvarez Hernandez, a 27 year-old resident of Santa Ana, was arrested for the attack that happened in the 1000 block of West MacArthur.
He is a documented gang member with a criminal history.
Hernandez was booked at the Orange County jail on multiple sexual assault charges including kidnapping.
His bail was set at $1 million.
The suspect's number 82 Dallas Cowboys jersey helped police track Hernandez down.
They say the game finished minutes before the sexual assault so they scoured local bars and found Buffalo Wild Wings.
The bar managers told police Hernandez had been there and was drinking so heavily, they asked him to leave. But not before bar patrons took a photo because he was acting so unruly.
Whey they saw the news story on the sex assault suspect wearing the same jersey, they called police.
"People care. People saw this. This is a violent random act of violence. That offends people. People come forward. People help us. Without the help of the media and the community eventually we would have got this guy, but we got this guy in less than 48 hours," said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, Santa Ana Police Department.
Hernandez was caught on security camera halfway between the bar and the bus stop minutes before the attack.
Armed with a warrant, police searched Hernandez's apartment nearby. They found the same jersey seen in the attack hanging in his closet.
"We believe beyond a reasonable doubt that we have the right person," said Bertagna.