Police on July 1 arrested an alleged serial rapist suspected in a string of seven sexual attacks and robberies committed countywide over the past year. But San Diego sheriff’s deputies found 39-year-old Thomas James Parker hanging from a sheet inside his cell around 7 a.m. July 3. The suspected rapist died shortly after, police said. “A deputy found him in the cell and took appropriate action. We contacted medical and then he was pronounced dead at the scene,” said San Diego Sheriff Lt. Julie Sutton. “It was him. He was alone, that’s my understanding, that he was not on suicide watch.” Police matched Parker’s DNA to at least three of seven attacks, including a Nov. 7, 2008 assault at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Mesa Housing, said UCSDPD Det. Bill McIntyre. Parker lived in Tierrasanta with his wife and children, Collins said. In addition to a Tierrasanta attack, police connected him to two Carmel Valley and Mission Valley assaults, one in the college area and at UCSD, Collins said. Beginning in June 2008, Parker allegedly began targeting Asian women, either robbing and raping or solely robbing the women, according to San Diego Police Department (SDPD) Det. Jim Collins. “In each one of his cases, he demanded cash and restrained them using cable ties or zip ties,” Collins said. The 39-year-old suspect targeted Asian females returning home from shopping. He reportedly entered through the victim’s garage, according to police, demanding money and then sexually attacking the women. But his suspected spree ended July 1, police said, when his latest victim fought back. The woman shopper drove into the garage of her Mission Valley home Wednesday, July 1, police said, where Thomas Parker allegedly waited, wearing a ball cap and sunglasses. “The suspect… threatened the victim with a knife. The suspect started to close the garage door… and the victim began to fight with the suspect,” police said. Neighbors told police they heard the woman cry for help and called 911. “The suspect ran out of the condominium complex with the victim chasing him,” police said. “The victim flagged down other residents who were driving in the area and they joined her in the chase.” Bystanders joined the chase across Friars Road at Fenton Parkway, police said. Two off-duty Border Patrol agents spotted the group, chasing and eventually arresting Parker, police reported. “[The first] Border Patrol agent chased the suspect on foot, identified himself as a federal agent and took the suspect into custody, without incident. A second off-duty Border Patrol agent observed the incident and assisted the first agent until police officers arrived,” police said. Police arrested Parker — a Caucasian, 5-foot-8-inch, 165-pound Tierrasanta man — and booked him into county jail on suspicion of burglary, robbery, assault with intent to commit rape and false imprisonment. Police said DNA linked him to three assaults, including the November 2008 UCSD Mesa Housing attack, while additional evidence tied Parker to the remaining four assaults. Police found Parker “hung by the neck with a sheet in his cell” July 3 at 7 a.m. According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, Parker committed suicide. Though police said they solved one string of sexual assaults, another series continues. A man continues to grope women throughout the La Jolla and University City areas, then running away. In a previous interview, UCSDPD Detective Melissa Collins said women could register for self-defense classes. For more information about self-defense classes, visit www.police. ucsd.edu. The police emergency line is (858) 534-4357 (cell) or 4-HELP (4357) on campus. Police are asking anyone with information about the groper attacks to call UCSDPD, (858) 534-4359, or SDPD at (619) 531-2299.