Luxury yacht, disfigured fingers and a police chase: Mystery surrounding rape suspect unravels in LA
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- From a luxury yacht in Wilmington to a dramatic high-speed chase across Los Angeles, the mystery surrounding a fugitive rape suspect from Massachusetts is unraveling.
It involves aliases, disfigured fingers, and that multimillion-dollar boat. Here's how it all unfolded.
The search for Stephen Paul Gale
Stephen Paul Gale, 71, was recently identified through DNA testing as the suspect in a series of rapes in the Boston area from 1989 to 1990.
At the time, he was known as the "Boston Strip Mall Rapist."
He allegedly robbed a store in Framingham, located about 20 miles west of Boston, just two days after Christmas in 1989 and sexually assaulted two female employees while holding a gun to their heads.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Gale was on the run for years before he was publicly identified and was last seen in 2008. Information about Gale was distributed nationwide. Investigators also said he once had ties to organized crime.
Gale was known to use the aliases like Stephen Pisarcik, John Rossi, Paul Costa, Paul DeRosa, Paul DiCarli, Paul Joseph DeCarlo, Steve Miner, Paul Williams, and Paul Ptaszynski.
Authorities said he also may have had ties to Phoenix, Arizona, Texas, Utah and Florida.
"He's a monster and he needs to go to prison for the rest of his life," said one of his alleged victims, who did not want to be identified.
The luxury yacht
According to WCVB-TV, sources said Gale was found aboard a yacht named The Dior anchored at Seacoast Yachts in Wilmington when police closed in on Aug. 8.
On Tuesday evening, AIR7 captured exclusive aerial footage of police as they searched the vessel. At least one of the officers involved in the search was from Massachusetts.
"I'm shocked," said Don Smollett, who's lived at the Wilmington Marina for 34 years. "You never know who you talk to anymore, huh?"
Smollett said it's been about seven years since Gale showed up with the yacht. During that time, Smollett said an inordinate amount of money was poured into renovating it.
"They completely remodeled that boat, they put a fortune into that boat," he said. "Everything you could imagine new went into that boat ... electronics and everything."
The Los Angeles Police Department told Eyewitness News that Gale lived on the yacht at least part time, but Smollett said he'd only see him about once a month when Gale would spend several hours onboard, occasionally bringing an unidentified man with him.
"Every now and then, he'd bring another gentleman that looked like him," said Smollett. "I thought it was his brother, a real heavyset guy also."
According to WCVB-TV, once Gale was in custody, police discovered he had mutilated his own fingertips in an effort to evade authorities.
The police chase through Los Angeles
Police believe Gale suspected he was being watched when he got in his SUV and took off, leading police on a lengthy chase.
The chase lasted just over an hour. Gale was driving a dark Lincoln SUV and drove on the 405 Freeway and on surface streets, mostly driving at a moderate rate of speed and obeying stop signs.
For the majority of the chase, he was able to avoid spike strips and PIT maneuver attempts. However, Gale ran over a spike strip in the Westwood area and at least one tire went flat.
He didn't slow down after the spike strip but ultimately, he was taken into custody near the UCLA medical area.
Gale appears in court
Eyewitness News was the only TV station inside an L.A. courtroom Tuesday where Gale was brought in on a gurney to face check-forging charges from the '90s. His lawyers asked to delay his arraignment while matters in Boston proceed, asking for no bail. The judge denied the request.
"Because of the very serious nature of those charges, including extreme cases of violence, including rape, robbery and kidnapping, at this time, I'm going to set bail in the amount of $2 million," the judge said.
Gale's attorneys told Eyewitness News the 71-year-old recently underwent heart surgery and isn't doing well.
"I have not heard of anybody, any crime, any problems he's had in almost 40 years," said attorney Sammy Weiss.
Meanwhile, the women he's accused of raping say they're finally nearing justice.
"It's time for his reign of terror to end," said one of his alleged victims.
Gale is due back in court on October 9.
