Two women testify suspect is the man who raped them

By Matt Pordum

Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004 | 9:43 a.m.

Two women testified Wednesday that 28-year-old Ricardo Beltran kidnapped, robbed and raped them at knifepoint this summer.

Police have accused Beltran of being a serial rapist who attacked as many as six women in Las Vegas, but so far he has only been charged in two cases.

The two cases against Beltran involve a July 26 abduction of a then 17-year-old girl from the parking lot of Denny's on the Strip north of Tropicana Avenue and a 19-year-old woman who reported being kidnapped Aug. 8 from in front of a Terrible Herbst gas station on Flamingo and Paradise roads.

The victim in the July case, who is now 18 years old, testified Wednesday that she and a friend had just finished eating breakfast and she was walking out to her car to retrieve cigarettes when Beltran walked up behind her with a knife.

She said Beltran drove her to an apartment complex, parked the car and told her to take her clothes off. She said she managed to grab a can of mace she had in her purse and sprayed Beltran in his mouth and right eye, but it "had no effect on him." Beltran put the knife to her throat and raped her before taking her cell phone, money and mace and ordering her out of the car, she said.

She ran to a gas station and used a customer's cell phone to contact her boyfriend, who picked her up and then drove her around so they could try to find her assailant. She said she didn't decide to contact the police until after taking a shower because when she laid down and closed her eyes "all I could do was see his (Beltran's) face."

She later picked Beltran's face out of a photo lineup.

Beltran's other alleged victim, the 19-year-old, said she had been walking to the Key Largo Casino when a "really dirty man" came up from behind her in front of the Terrible Herbst at Flamingo and Paradise. She said Beltran asked her "How much?" before grabbing her and telling her he had a gun in his pocket.

"I would have run if he hadn't told me he had a gun, but you can't outrun a bullet," she testified.

She said Beltran then drove her to a "dark and quiet" apartment complex where he put a knife to her throat and raped her. Afterward he went through her purse and took her wallet and cell phone, she said.

Beltran wasn't happy with the $250 she had in her wallet, saying "This is all you have?" Fearing for her life, she suggested he take her to an ATM machine at a nearby 7-Eleven where she could get him more money, she testified.

She said Beltran agreed but warned her if she did anything wrong he would shoot her. The woman said she went into the convenience store and pretended to withdraw money while she told the store clerk to call the police because the man outside had just raped her.

Although the police responded five minutes later, her attacker had left by the time they arrived.

Beltran was arrested Aug. 8 after a Metro officer posed as a friend of the 19-year-old and said she wanted her cell phone back. The officer scheduled a meeting with the man who had answered the woman's cell phone, but he didn't show up. Beltran was found nearby in a vehicle matching the description of the rapist's car and was taken into custody, according to police records.

Beltran's public defender, Bridget Hoffman, didn't cross-examine either of the alleged victims, instead reserving her right to cross-examine them on Nov. 4 when Beltran's preliminary hearing continues.

Hoffman complained that she hadn't received a copy of the report on the DNA tests conducted by investigators until 24 hours prior to Wedensday's preliminary hearing. She said she needed more time to properly review the report before cross-examining the victims.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman said the two victims' subpoenas to testify would be extended to the Nov. 4 continuation of the preliminary hearing. But Zimmerman also noted for the record that if for some reason the victims can't be located later, Hoffman did have the opportunity to cross-examine them in court Wednesday but waived that opportunity.

Hoffman said she requested the continuance to protect the due process rights of her client, and Zimmerman told her that the court was not only concerned about Beltran's rights.

"This is not just about your client's interests," Zimmerman said. "The victims have interests. The people of the community have interests. I have to balance all those interests out."

Deputy District Attorney Beck Goettsch said she had only received the DNA report on Monday and said the prosecution had no plans on calling a DNA expert or introducing DNA evidence during the testimony of the two alleged victims.