Fugitive Rape Suspect’s Car Found
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Fugitive rape suspect Andrew Luster’s dark green SUV was found in Santa Monica on Sunday, apparently abandoned for some time, Ventura County authorities said.
But the green-eyed heir to a cosmetics fortune, who jumped bail and fled during a two-week break in his lurid rape trial, is still nowhere to be found.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 19, 2003 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 19, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 74 words Type of Material: Correction
Andrew Luster -- Several stories, photo captions and headlines that have appeared in Section A and the California section about convicted rapist Andrew Luster incorrectly identified him as an heir to cosmetics magnate Max Factor. Luster, the great-grandson of Factor, lives off investments that include a family trust, according to court records. But he is not a direct heir to the Max Factor fortune, according to his family.
Santa Monica police towed the Toyota 4-Runner after it was spotted near the corner of San Vicente Boulevard and 10th Street on Sunday afternoon, said Capt. Ken Cozzens of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
Cozzens said he was unsure who reported the missing vehicle or whether it was found in a parking lot. But Santa Monica authorities told him the vehicle looked as if it may have been left at the location for days or even weeks, Cozzens said.
“It had some dust on it, so it looked like it had been there for some time,” he said.
Santa Monica police are holding the vehicle for investigators in Ventura County, where Luster faces 87 criminal counts for allegedly drugging and raping three women at his beachfront home.
The case went to the jury last week.
Luster is accused of using the date-rape drug GHB to incapacitate and sexually assault women whom he met at bars and brought home.
He faces a possible life sentence if convicted.
During the three-week trial, jurors viewed videotapes of Luster, 39, having sex with women who appear to be snoring and unconscious.
His Santa Monica defense attorney, Roger Jon Diamond, told jurors that all the sex was consensual and that the women knew they were being videotaped. He portrayed his client as an aspiring pornography producer.
Luster, great-grandson to cosmetics tycoon Max Factor, was last seen Jan. 3 leaving his Mussel Shoals home in the SUV.
After he failed to check in as required by the terms of his $1-million bail, Ventura County authorities descended on his home and confirmed that Luster had fled, taking warm-weather clothing with him.
Ventura County Superior Court Judge Ken Riley declared him a fugitive and ordered that the trial continue in his absence.
Authorities initially thought Luster took his German shepherd with him. But they later found that the pet had been taken to a home his mother owns in Sonoma.
Authorities have declined to say whether they are investigating friends or family who may have helped Luster plan his escape.
The area where the SUV was found is near where Luster grew up and attended high school. His mother maintains a home in Malibu.
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