A man accused of forcing his way into a Boyle Heights home while armed with a machete and raping a woman in her bedroom has been arrested and is facing charges, Los Angeles police said Wednesday.
Manuel Larios Munoz, 21, was arrested May 22 on suspicion of rape, according to the LAPD.
Munoz allegedly broke into the home in the 1800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue through a window while a woman in her 30s was asleep in her bedroom on May 15, police said.
He allegedly took his clothes off and, wearing only his underwear, went into her bedroom, police said.
The woman woke up, looked up and saw a man standing at the foot of her bed before he sexually assaulted her, police said.
Munoz allegedly put his clothes back on, grabbed his machete and left, police said.
The LA County District Attorney's Office charged Munoz in connection with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by foreign object and first-degree residential burglary. If convicted as charged, Munoz faces a possible maximum sentence of 75 years to life in prison.
A victim's neighbor said the community feels safer knowing an arrest has been made.
The LAPD credits the arrest to increased foot patrols in the area of the attack, saying in a statement that officers found out Munoz's whereabouts while working in the community.
"They had indicated they had seen who they thought matched the description of the sexual assault suspect," LAPD Capt. Martin Baeza said.
Last week, the department's Hollenbeck Station announced a program to double the number of police foot patrols in the Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights and El Sereno areas.
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Police are looking for additional victims and are asking anyone with information to call the LAPD.
Munoz is due in court June 10.
