Suspect arrested in string of home invasion assaults

NORTH COUNTY — A man suspected of multiple home invasions met his match as his angry, spunky victim fought him off and then chased him into a nearby shopping center.
DNA testing has linked Thomas James Parker, 33, to a series of home invasions, robberies, and sexual assaults over the past 13 months, including two assaults in the Carmel Valley area.
Parker was arrested July 1, after he attacked a woman in her garage in the Mission Valley area. The woman fought Parker off, then chased him as he ran through the condominium complex to a nearby shopping center, where he was taken into custody by off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The series of attacks began on June 6, 2008, in the college area. In the first six incidents, the victims were all Asian females. The suspect attacked the victims as they returned home from shopping or running errands and gained entry through an open garage door or open front door of the residence. In each case the suspect threatened the victim with a knife, demanded money and threatened to or did sexually assault the victim.
The second case occurred Nov. 7, 2008, in the UC San Diego, Mesa Housing area. The UC San Diego Police Department continues to investigate that case. The third case occurred Jan. 16 in Tierrasanta.
The next two cases occurred in the Carmel Valley area Feb. 10, in the 10500 block of Whispering Hills Lane and March 4, in the 3700 block of Carmel View Road. The sixth assault occurred April 28, in the 6500 block of Reflections Drive, in the Mission Valley Area.
Detectives from the San Diego Police Department Robbery and Sex Crimes Units and the UC San Diego Police Department, as well as patrol officers from several area commands, officers from specialized units, Crime Analysis, lab personnel from the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department have worked in collaboration on this series for the past 13 months. The detectives have investigated more than 140 tips received from county residents.
Detectives met with the District Attorney’s office to discuss the cases and charges that will be filed against Parker. The D.A. will charge Parker for all seven cases in the series. The exact charges will be announced at a later time.
Anyone with information on or concerning this series is asked to call the San Diego Police Department Robbery Units at (619) 531-2299, UC San Diego Police Department at (858) 534-4358, or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.