Less than a day after officials said a rape suspect booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station jail was accused of a Palmdale assault, a Nixle alert mentioned an SCV incident.
Department officials asked residents Tuesday afternoon if they recognized a man accused of luring at least two women he didn’t know and then assaulting them.
Sgt. Joseph Mesa of the Special Victims Unit, which investigates abuse of children and sexual assaults involving adult victims, wrote Monday that their investigation into Luis Humberto Chinchilla Mejia, 41, of Palmdale, began in March.
The victim who reported her assault to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station did not know the name of her attacker, according to Mesa. The SVU then took over the investigation.
“The suspect was unknown and unidentified at the time of the report,” Mesa wrote.
Detectives believed he targeted two women between March 3 and May 17 of 2024.
The first location of an assault was mentioned in Sierra Highway and Avenue R in Palmdale, and the second location was Pico Canyon Road in Stevenson Ranch.
“Both females were lured into his vehicle and sexually assaulted,” according to the Nixle alert sent Tuesday. “Based on the nature of the offenses, detectives believe there might be additional victims.”
Arrest records indicated Mejia is a car washer who was arrested at 9 a.m. Friday in Santa Clarita. Mesa said he did not have the location of the arrest available.
Mejia’s bail is set at $1,200,000. As of this story’s publication, he’s in custody at Men’s Central Jail.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
The Sheriff’s Department data indicates that both the city and the county are experiencing an uptick in sexual violence.
Last year, there were 16 sexual assaults reported to the SCV Sheriff’s Station for the first six months of the year. During the same time this year, there have been 39 reports, a 143% increase.
Countywide last year, there were 359 sexual assaults reported for the first six months. There have been 404 for the first half of 2025.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Bureau toll free tip line at 877-710-5273 or by email at [email protected]. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), use your smartphone by downloading the “P3 Tips” Mobile APP on Google Play or the Apple APP Store or by using the website http:///acrimestoppers.org.