Deputies arrest Fallbrook man for four burglaries, two sexual assaults

Sheriff's deputies assigned to the Fallbrook substation captured a suspect in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Dec. 2, who had reportedly committed four burglaries and two sexual assaults within a few hours.

"The deputies did a great job," said Lt. Dan Brislin, who oversees the Sheriff's Dept.'s Family Protection Detail.

Michael Anthony Espinoza, 22, of Fallbrook was arrested on charges of burglary, sexual assault, and rape in the incidents.

According to Brislin, the first call deputies responded to, at approximately 2:35 a.m., was at an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Alturas Road in Fallbrook, where a female resident reported that an unknown male entered her apartment and then fled on foot.

Deputies began to search the area for the suspect, and during that process, one of the deputies heard screams coming from a nearby apartment and observed a male matching the description of the suspect running from the residence. Deputies chased the suspect on foot and detained him.

An investigation revealed that Michael Espinoza appeared to have committed four separate residential burglaries at addresses in the 1200 to 1400 blocks of Alturas over the previous few hours and committed sexual assaults during two of them.

The first sexual assault victim, a 62-year-old female, reported that Espinoza entered her apartment, sexually assaulted her and left the residence. "Approximately 10-15 minutes later, Espinoza broke into a second apartment, which prompted the call to the Sheriff's Department," said Brislin.

"Minutes after fleeing from that residence, Espinoza entered a third apartment where a 39-year-old-female reported that Espinoza attempted to sexually assault her while she was in bed with her husband," said Brislin. "The victim screamed and Espinoza fled the residence, which ultimately led to his arrest."

"Detectives discovered that Espinoza had committed an additional residential burglary earlier in the evening," said Brislin.

Espinoza has been charged with 459 PC, residential burglary, 289 (a)(1) PC, penetration with a foreign object with force, 261 (a)(1) PC, rape with force, 220 (b) PC, assault with intent to commit rape during the commission of a burglary.

Espinoza was booked into the Vista Detention Facility. His bail was set at $1.4 million.

Anyone with information regarding this ongoing investigation is encouraged to contact the San Diego Sheriff's Department at (858) 565-5200 or remain anonymous and call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.