Rape Suspect Held in Garden Grove

Heavy evening traffic helped Garden Grove police catch a rape suspect Monday night after a half-mile chase.

Police said Thomas Maurice Gasporra, 28, of La Habra was arrested at gunpoint on suspicion of kidnaping, forcible rape, evading arrest and reckless driving by officers Kevin LaCroix and Paul Griffith, who caught up with the suspect’s vehicle at the crowded intersection of Katella and Knott avenues about 6:40 p.m. An unidentified woman was freed during Gasporra’s capture and was treated at the UC Irvine Medical Center, according to a police spokesman.

A security guard noticed Gasporra’s pickup in the parking lot of a business park and called authorities, police said. A chase ensued when police approached the pickup on foot and Gasporra sped away.