Man held in robberies, sexual assault

A man suspected of carrying out a sexual assault and home robberies throughout Los Angeles was arrested and charged Thursday, after local lawmakers announced a $35,000 award for his capture.

The suspect was identified as Russell Harris, 34, of Santa Clarita.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged him with seven felony counts: one of assault to commit rape during a burglary and six other burglaryrelated crimes.

If convicted of all the charges, Harris faces up to life in prison.

Authorities contend that Harris went on a rampage across East Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake and Hollywood, and sexually assaulted at least one woman. Most of the crimes occurred Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, police said.

Surveillance video shows the suspect being let into complexes by residents and through unlocked gates.

In East Hollywood, police alleged, he entered an apartment and hid behind the front door, waiting for a woman who lived in the unit to return from the building’s laundry room. When she entered five minutes later, police said, the suspect attacked her and fled.

About 90 minutes later, the man entered an unlocked apartment in Echo Park. The woman who lived in the unit heard her dogs barking aggressively, authorities said, and found the suspect in her living room.

The suspect then pinned the woman to her sofa, police said. The dogs tried to bite him, and she pushed him out of the apartment.

The man identified as Harris was wearing an olive green shirt with a picture of the Virgin Mary, bluejeans and white shoes, police said. He has been known to carry a knife.

Harris was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, but it was postponed. Prosecutors said they would ask a judge to set his bail at $2.3 million.

An attorney for Harris could not be reached for comment.