Suspect held in Midway District sexual assault Detectives with the police department’s Sex Crimes Unit swooped in to make an arrest on Christmas Eve, cuffing a 44-year-old man suspected in the sexual assault of a maid at Wyndham Garden Hotel three days earlier. Christopher Stevens was taken into custody on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 54-year-old hotel employee who was cleaning a vacant room in between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. According to investigators, the suspect identified as Stevens confronted the maid as she was leaving the room and forced her back inside. The victim reportedly fought with her attacker, who brutally beat and sexually assaulted her. After the attack, the man fled on foot. The woman was transported to a local hospital for treatment of her injuries. On Dec. 24 SDPD criminologists made a positive identification of Stevens as the suspect from evidence collected at the Sports Arena Boulevard hotel. The DNA evidence was additionally linked to evidence collected from a reported sexual assault case that occurred at Hourglass Park on Oct. 9. Sex Crimes Unit detectives and patrol officers arrested Stevens without incident at the Vagabond Inn in Mission Valley within hours of his identification. Stevens was booked on numerous charges, including forcible sexual assault, attempted murder and false imprisonment. Anyone with additional information concerning the case is urged to call the Sex Crimes Unit at (619) 531-2210 or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. PL bank robbery suspect has Jan 4. court date A Jan. 4 preliminary hearing has been set for an alleged bank robber who is accused of holding up a Point Loma bank and two others elsewhere, falsely claiming to have a bomb. Roberto Amado Sepulveda, 24, un-successfully sought a reduction in his $200,000 bail when he appeared Dec. 27 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Lorna Alksne. She doubled his initial bail of $100,000 during Sepulveda’s Dec. 20 arraignment. Sepulveda is accused of holding up the America West Bank on Rosecrans Street on Nov. 21 and a Chase bank in Imperial Beach four days earlier. He was arrested Dec. 17 after allegedly holding up the Navy Federal Credit Union on Saturn Blvd. in San Diego. A teller put a tracking device in with the stolen cash and police arrested him at an Imperial Beach home where he had been staying. Fake bombs were left at two of the banks. Sepulveda has pleaded not guilty to all charges and he remains in custody. —Neal Putnam

Backpackers given citations for violations Apparently unfamiliar with city codes, a group of backpackers were issued multiple violations last week for everything from smoking on the beach to open alcohol containers and drug possession. Police officers arrived at Saratoga Park off Abbott Street near the lifeguard tower to back up lifeguards, who found the backpackers sporting open containers, smoking and possessing marijuana. The backpackers were cited amid protests they were unaware of the smoking and alcohol ban in the park, at the beach and adjacent parking lots. — Bianca Koch

SD Restaurant Week ready for another round California Restaurant Association’s semi-annual San Diego Restaurant Week (SDRW) is back again this Jan. 13-18 to kick the new year off right with sumptuous dining options in a dozen neighborhoods throughout the county, including La Jolla, Point Loma and Mission Bay. Talented local chefs at more than 180 of San Diego’s myriad dining establishments will dish out a taste of their culinary skill with prix fixe lunch and dinner menus at discounted prices for six delicious days. In Point Loma: • Bo-beau, French, dinner $30 • Boathouse Restaurant, seafood, lunch $10, dinner $20 • Island Prime, steakhouse, dinner $40 • Luna Grill, Mediterranean, lunch $10, dinner $20 • Old Venice Restaurant, Italian, lunch $10, dinner $30 • The Venetian, Italian, dinner $30