A Long Beach man arrested for allegedly raping two prostitutes while posing as a police officer in Santa Ana killed himself last week, officials with the Santa Ana Police Department announced Thursday.
Long Beach police found Joseph Raymond Stanton, 42, dead due to an apparent suicide on July 1, at an apartment on the 1200 block of 3rd Street in Long Beach’s Alamitos Beach neighborhood, SAPD officials stated in a press release.
“Stanton left suicide notes and previously told associates he was contemplating suicide,” the release stated. “There was no evidence of foul play.”
Officials said DNA evidence linked Stanton to a series of sexual assaults in Santa Ana, one attack happening August 2015 and the other two crimes occurring January 2016.
“In each assault, the suspect posed as a police officer and lured the victims into his car,” the release stated. “The suspect then drove the victims to secluded locations, where he forcefully raped two of them. The third victim had escaped before the rape occurred.”
Santa Ana police were able to identify Stanton as the suspect after publicly releasing information on the sexual assaults on June 2 and asking people to come forward with any tips.
Detectives arrested Stanton on June 29 after gathering evidence confirming his involvement in the assaults. He was booked for the kidnap and rape of two victims and the attempted rape of the third victim. DNA from the two rapes matched Stanton’s own DNA, officials stated.
Stanton’s bail was set at $1 million dollars which he promptly posted and was subsequently released on June 30.
If you have additional information about this case, please contact Corporal Javier Aceves at 714.245.8542.
Above, left photo courtesy of the Santa Ana Police Department.
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