Oakland police capture suspect in sex-assault spree

OAKLAND, Calif. - A suspect has been arrested and charged in series of sexual assaults near Lake Merritt and downtown Oakland, authorities said Wednesday.

KTVU has learned that Oakland police arrested Isaiah Meleke Lawrence, 20, on Thursday. Alameda County prosecutors have charged Lawrence with rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, and robbery. He's being held without bail.

"I'm very glad they were able to catch him. I hope it's actually the person that did it," said Pamela Drake, former director of the Lakeshore Business Improvement District.

"I certainly don't want anything like this to keep happening," Drake said. "I always feel that rather than more police on the beat, we need more investigators."

Police said on Nov. 30, Lawrence pointed a gun at a 33-year-old woman and tried to rob and rape her, but a neighbor yelled at him to stop.

That same day, police say he confronted a 29-year-old woman at gunpoint in a neighborhood near Vernon Street and Moss Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood, forced her into a Prius and raped and robbed her.

Police said he then drove her to Bank of the West on Lakeshore Avenue and tried to get her to withdraw money, but she was unable to do so.

Lawrence is also accused of trying to rape a third woman on Broadway near Thomas L. Berkley Way in downtown Oakland back in July.