The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office levied a pair of rape charges against a Palmdale man arrested in Santa Clarita earlier this month, after a victim came forward back in March and claimed she was assaulted.
Detectives with the Special Victims Unit investigated the allegation, and then found a second woman who alleged she was raped by Luis Chinchilla Mejia, 41, of Palmdale.
Detectives believed he targeted two women between March 3 and May 17 of 2024, according to a Nixle release from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. The first location of an assault was mentioned as Sierra Highway and Avenue R in Palmdale, and the second location was Pico Canyon Road in Stevenson Ranch.
Neither victim knew Mejia, according to law enforcement officials in the Aug. 5 Nixle alert, which is what led LASD detectives to ask the public if they recognized Mejia to see if there were additional victims.
Both allegations filed Aug. 4 against Mejia carry a potential penalty of 25 years to life based on the severity of the allegation and his alleged use of a weapon in the commission of the crime.
He pleaded not guilty to both counts at his Aug. 14 arraignment through an interpreter.
The allegations filed by Deputy District Attorney Courtnee Draper contained handwritten notes in the findings for pretrial detention that allege his use of a knife, a threat of bodily harm to the alleged victim and an allegation of cruelty and viciousness to the offense.
He was ordered into custody and held in lieu of $1.2 million bail after he entered his plea.
He’s due back in court Sept. 30 to schedule a date for his preliminary arraignment.
At a preliminary hearing, a judge hears the prosecution’s case, any affirmative defense, and then determines whether there’s enough potential evidence to prove guilt at a trial.
