Man Who Tried To Sexually Assault Female Motorists To Learn Fate

UPDATED STORY HERE:

'Wicked, Evil, Coward': Victim's Haunting Words To I-215 Attacker

RIVERSIDE, CA — A man who attempted to sexually assault two women whose vehicles he intentionally struck on a Riverside freeway is slated to be sentenced Monday to a term in state prison.

Joseph Pete Macias, 35, pleaded guilty last month to assault with intent to commit rape, penetration of a victim with a foreign object, assault likely to produce great bodily injury and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a weapon in the commission of a felony offense.

In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors dropped three counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count each of making criminal threats and assault with intent to commit rape.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Samuel Diaz is expected to certify the terms of the plea agreement and impose the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense,

Macias is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. He was arrested last December following a Riverside police investigation into the attacks on Interstate 215.

According to investigators, the defendant targeted the first victim, identified in court documents only as Jane Doe, in the predawn hours of Dec. 23.

The woman had stopped at a gas station on University Avenue, just off of I-215, and became aware of trouble as she left the station shortly after 1 a.m., spotting a dark compact SUV tailing her southbound, according to Riverside police Sgt. Michael Cobb.

When she exited the freeway at Central Avenue a couple miles away, the stalker "intentionally struck the back of her vehicle," prompting the woman to pull to the side of the road, near Sycamore Canyon Boulevard, Cobb said.

He alleged that the assailant -- Macias -- came at the woman with a knife, grabbed several of her belongings and tried to force himself on her, but she resisted and fled the location.

About 4 a.m. on Dec. 29, another woman, identified only as Jane Doe No. 2, was driving northbound on I-215, near Blaine Street, when her vehicle was struck from behind, prompting her to pull onto the exit ramp at Blaine, according to police.

"(Macias) exited his vehicle armed with a knife, attempted to sexually assault the victim and stole her property," Cobb said. "The suspect fled in his vehicle, and the victim ran to the nearest open business to call police."

Detectives were able to obtain information on the vehicle used in both attacks and soon after identified Macias as the perpetrator.

He was taken into custody without a struggle at his Winslow Street residence in Riverside on Dec. 30.

The defendant has no prior documented felony convictions.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock