By Khalida Sarwari
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a woman on an Amtrak train north of King City on Tuesday night, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Andrew Louis Ybarra, a 30-year-old Moreno Valley resident, allegedly solicited sex from a female passenger on the train at about 9:35 p.m., according to sheriff’s officials.
When the victim refused, he followed her to a lower compartment and grabbed her from behind, sheriff’s investigators said.
There, he allegedly held her hands and reached down the back of her pants and fondled her, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators allege that Ybarra then tried to undo the front of the victim’s pants as she resisted and tried to get away.
She finally managed to escape, and other passengers who became aware of what had happened went to confront Ybarra, according to the sheriff’s office.
He allegedly argued with and slapped another passenger before train conductors came to detain him, investigators said.
Ybarra was later arrested by sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of sexual battery and attempted rape.
He was also found in possession of marijuana.