SUSPECT DENIES BEING FOOTHILL RAPIST LAWYER, FIANCEE CLAIM WRONG MAN ARRESTED.Byline: Howard Breuer Staff Writer A Tujunga man suspected of being the Foothill Rapist rap·ist n. One who commits rape. Noun 1. rapist - someone who forces another to have sexual intercourse raper aggressor, assailant, assaulter, attacker - someone who attacks pleaded not guilty Tuesday to four rapes and five burglaries. Clifton Hutchins, 34, who has a prior federal cocaine conviction, was ordered back for a preliminary hearing Jan. 8 and remains in custody in lieu of $4.5 million bail. Outside court, Hutchins' fiancee and attorney said that authorities have no scientific evidence implicating im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. Hutchins and that investigators should keep looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. whoever has been raping women in La Crescenta and Pasadena. ``They got the wrong person,'' said Hutchins' fiancee, Tonia Pritchett, 26, of Tujunga. ``We have yet to see any kind of evidence.'' She said Hutchins has an 8-year-old daughter and a steady job contracting with an Ontario paging business that he recently sold. She said phone records will bolster his alibi. But Deputy District Attorney Patricia Doyle said there is substantial evidence, although she had not yet seen the reports. ``Detectives tell me there's (DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. ) matches on three of the four rapes,'' as well as a partial palm print, Doyle said after the arraignment A criminal proceeding at which the defendant is officially called before a court of competent jurisdiction, informed of the offense charged in the complaint, information, indictment, or other charging document, and asked to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or as otherwise permitted . Even though the rapist wore a ski mask, ``some people identified him by his eyes and his unique physical stature,'' Doyle said of Hutchins, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds. ``I believe he's the right guy.'' Hutchins is suspected of attacking four women, three in Pasadena and one in La Crescenta, between June and November. Each victim was home alone. Charges also include five counts of residential burglary, one count of possession of cocaine for sale and one misdemeanor count of prowling prowl v. prowled, prowl·ing, prowls v.tr. To roam through stealthily, as in search of prey or plunder: prowled the alleys of the city after dark. v.intr. . Defense attorney Michael B. Zimbert said his client once spent about three years on the lam to avoid arrest on a drug charge. Yet after investigators in the rape cases took hair, saliva saliva Thick, colourless fluid constantly present in the mouth, composed of water, mucus, proteins, mineral salts, and amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starches. One to two litres are produced daily by the salivary glands. and blood samples from him, he surrendered to federal parole officers for a parole violation, Zimbert said. He suggested Hutchins, who faces life in prison, would have fled if he suspected his DNA would match samples from the crimes. ``He knows how to run, and he didn't do that. He chose to turn himself in,'' Zimbert said outside court. ``His actions are consistent with a person thinking, `This ain't me.' '' |
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