A suspected serial rapist wanted in connection with the 1989 rapes of two Massachusetts women was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday after a lengthy police manhunt.
Police located the suspect, Stephen Paul Gale, 71, driving a dark SUV, shortly after 4 p.m. in the Wilmington area and began a pursuit, according to US Marshals.
Gale led police onto the 110 and 405 freeways, eventually exiting the freeway onto surface streets on LA’s Westside while driving at moderate speeds, KTLA5-TV and ABC7 TV reported.
The hour-and-a-half pursuit ended on Medical Plaza Drive in Westwood near the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, said Kevin Terzes, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police surrounded the driver’s vehicle with guns drawn, KTLA5 reported. The driver surrendered and was taken into custody.
His arrest was the result of a decades-long nationwide manhunt for Gale, who was charged with the aggravated rape and kidnapping of two women in Massachusetts in 1989.
He was recently identified through genetic genealogy as a suspect in a series of rapes in Boston in 1989-90, authorities said.
At the time of the incidents, Gale’s identity was unknown and he was referred to simply as the “Boston Strip Mall Rapist.”
Gale had been on the run for years before he was finally identified as a suspect in the case in 1989, according to federal authorities. He was last seen in public in 2008.
IN May, the US Marshals Office released a wanted announcement for Gale in connection with the 1989 case and a reward for his capture of up to $5,000. Additionally, the announcement said Gale was also wanted for questioning in connection with the series of rapes in the Boston area.