SUSPECT IN CUSTODY IN STRING OF RAPES.

Byline: Staff and Wire Reports

A suspected serial rapist was in custody Friday in lieu of $1.4 million bail, officials said.

Quintman Patterson, 20, was spotted riding a bicycle about 10 p.m. Thursday by members of the Koreatown Task Force, formed to solve the series of sexual assaults in Los Angeles, Glendale and Beverly Hills, said LAPD Officer Kristi Sandoval.

Police arrested Patterson outside a motel in the 500 block of South Alexandria Avenue in the Wilshire Center area, and recovered a shoulder bag and a gun, she said.

Victims have told police that the suspect concealed a handgun in a bag similar to the one that was in Patterson's possession, according to police.

In the Glendale case, the victim was attacked after she returned home after a night out at a karaoke bar by a man who gained access to her home through an unlocked sliding door, Glendale Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

``It was pretty brutal the way this guy operated. He stalked his victims,'' Lorenz said.

According to police, DNA evidence ``positively linked'' four of the crimes to the same suspect. The case will be presented to the district attorney's office on Monday, police said.

Anybody with information about the case is asked to call the police.

``We fear there are a number of other victims that may be out there who did not report the crime,'' Lorenz said. ``We encourage them to contact the police. We have to do our best to put this guy away and throw away the key.''