Fire captain’s son charged with attempted rape, murder

A California fire captain’s son accused of opening fire on a couple in a “random” attack kidnapped a 19-year-old woman and tried to rape her before dumping her body in a field, prosecutors said.

Gabriel Esparza, 20, pleaded not guilty last week to seven counts, including kidnapping, attempted rape and murder in the death of Andrea Vasquez. He was also charged with the attempted murder of the woman’s 19-year-old boyfriend, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a news release.

Other charges against Esparza include special circumstance allegations of murder during the course of a kidnapping and murder during the course of an attempted rape as well as the allegation he personally used a rifle while committing the crimes.

“Our hearts ache for the devastating loss of a young life. The heinous nature of this crime, involving the murder, kidnapping and attempted rape of an innocent young woman, shocks our community to its core,” Gascón said.

The DA vowed to “work tirelessly” to hold Esparza accountable for his “callous actions.”

Esparza’s attorney, Ambrosio Rodriguez, described his client as a good kid from a good family whose father is a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain.

“Everyone in this case is in shock, and everyone who knows him can’t believe that he has been charged with this crime,” the lawyer told the station Fox 11, adding that Esparza was “scared” and only beginning to understand what is happening.

Following Esparza’s arraignment Wednesday, Andrea Vasquez’s mother, Anna, told reporters that she demands justice for her daughter, who she said was “just starting out her life.”

Vasquez was a rising sophomore at Fullerton College, where she was studying fashion.

After midnight on August 20, Vasquez and her boyfriend were standing outside their car parked in Penn Park in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier, when prosecutors said Esparza approached them and opened fire from a rifle.

While Vasquez’s boyfriend ran for help, Esparza allegedly kidnapped Vasquez and took off with her in the bed of his pickup truck.

“He drove her to a remote area of Moreno Valley in Riverside County where he attempted to rape her before dumping her body in a field,” the news release from the DA’s office stated.

When the boyfriend returned to the scene of the crime, he found blood on the ground and Vasquez missing, police previously said.

The following day, police arrested Esparza at his place of work in Lakewood. A few hours later, Vasquez’s body was found in a field near Alessandro Boulevard and Merwin Street in Moreno Valley.

Authorities have recovered a weapon they believe is tied to the crime and Esparza’s 2013 white Toyota Tacoma truck.

“It appears to be a random selection of a victim,” Whittier Police Chief Aviv Bar said. “There is no known motive. There’s no apparent or known connection between the suspect and the victims.”

Esparza has been ordered held without bail pending a preliminary hearing set for October 25. If convicted of the charges against him, he faces up to a life sentence without the possibility of parole.