groping suspect arrested in seattle

Oh hell yes. Justice. Seattle police have arrested a man in connection with a groping attack on an Asian woman in Rainier Valley on Saturday, and are looking into whether he's behind 22 similar attacks in the area over the past two years. Yes, it seems the "Beacon Hill Groper" may have been caught: Police arrest groping suspect.

37-year-old Darran Bolar of Seattle was picked out of a photo montage by witnesses to the most recent attack. Witnesses offered police a detailed description of the man and said that he fled in a green 1994 Jeep Cherokee.

Police arrested Bolar at 11:30 a.m. today and booked him into the King County Jail. He has been charged with fourth-degree assault for the groping and second-degree robbery, stemming from the theft of a witness' cellphone during Saturday's attack.

Officers have linked Bolar to some of the 22 other attacks in the area since August 2006. As we've mentioned here several times before, most of the victims have been Asian or Asian American, occurring at or around bus stops. If Bolar ends up indeed being the guy, no doubt, a lot of folks will be breathing easier. Gotcha, you sicko.

UPDATE: Wait. After the arrest of Darran Bolar, police say the two-year string of sexual attacks on women in south Seattle appear to be the work of more than one person: Suspect charged in groping. Bolar, a registered sex offender, is being investigated for several attacks, but not all 25 of the reported gropings. Police believe it's not the same person doing all of them. Dammit.

According to a crime analysis released by police on Thursday, the majority of the attacks occurred on weekdays between 5 and 11 p.m. Nearly all of the suspects were described as black men, but in other characteristics such as skin tone, build, height and clothing style, descriptions have varied drastically. A copycat? Another dude out there with a dangerous Asian fetish? The guy is still out there, so stay vigilant.