SALON ROBBERY SUSPECT ARRESTED; MAN CHARGED IN ARMED HOLDUPS, RAPES, SLAYING.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Ending the hunt for what police described as a ``ruthless, vicious predator,'' the LAPD announced Wednesday the arrest of a suspect in a series of beauty salon robberies and rapes in the San Fernando Valley, and a slaying in the central city area.

Walter Antonio Cortez, 26, has been charged with 35 felony counts, including murder, attempted murder, robbery and sexual battery. He is suspected of committing 30 armed robberies, 28 of which were at beauty salons and restaurants in the San Fernando Valley, said Lt. Jim Grayson of the Los Angeles Police Department.

An arraignment in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Wednesday was continued until Sept. 28. Cortez is being held without bail.

Cortez is facing charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from a May 12 robbery of a party supply store, where he is suspected of shooting a pregnant clerk once in the face and twice in the stomach.

The suspect is charged with the attempted murder of Teresa Flores, who was five-months' pregnant, and the murder of her child, who was delivered alive by doctors immediately after the shooting but died as a result of trauma from the gunshot wounds, said LAPD Cmdr. Dave Kalish.

A murder charge can be filed as long as doctors determine the fetus was viable to survive outside the womb at the time of the killing, Kalish said.

``We have a ruthless, vicious criminal removed from the streets as a result of great detective work,'' Kalish said during a news conference at Parker Center.

A transient resident of Van Nuys and North Hills, Cortez was arrested without incident at an apartment in the 500 block of South Rampart Boulevard in Westlake at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday by detectives of the Robbery Homicide Division, Kalish said.

A felony parolee, Cortez has a long criminal record, including robbery, assault and spousal abuse, Kalish said.

Luis Flores, the husband of the store clerk, said the arrest of Cortez is a happy moment, but that his wife, who still faces additional surgery, cried when she heard of the arrest.

``I hope this man stays in jail for his life,'' Luis Flores said. ``I understand my little baby boy is not going to come back.''

Cortez also is charged with shooting and seriously wounding a woman witness at an area beauty salon after she looked at him, according to Detective Gina Rubalcava.

The investigation is continuing and witnesses are being brought in to identify Cortez, who is believed to have robbed at least two restaurants and 26 beauty salons in the Valley, Grayson said.

Rubalcava said Cortez used a handgun in the robberies. On four occasions in the Valley, he raped or sexually assaulted the lone female operators of the salons, dragging them into back storage rooms, officials said.

``He would, most of the time, pose as a customer,'' Grayson said. ``He would leave. Then he would come back to rob the business.''

The first robberies occurred March 18 and 24 in North Hollywood and March 25 in Van Nuys, but the crimes ceased until June 29, when the robber struck again in North Hollywood.

A partial license plate provided by a witness helped the police identify Cortez as the suspect last month, when the district attorney filed the 35 felony charges and obtained a warrant for the suspect's arrest.

Backed up by detectives from the Special Investigation Section, Robbery Homicide Division detectives staked out the Rampart area apartment for five hours Tuesday night before Cortez was spotted and arrested.