'A. M. rapist' suspect gets Calif. trial date; awaits Arlington Hts. charges

The Arlington Heights man who police believe is the "A.M. Rapist," so called for a series of early morning or late night rapes and burglaries that started nearly a decade ago in San Diego, could go on trial in January in California.

Meanwhile, Arlington Heights police await lab results that will determine whether the same man might be connected to two similar crimes in Arlington Heights.

Stephen D. Richardson, 33, was arraigned Thursday afternoon in San Diego.

Richardson was transported to California after police arrested him Aug. 11 outside his north Arlington Heights home on Bloomington Avenue.

Richardson pleaded not guilty in August to 23 felony charges and remains jailed in San Diego on $1 million bond.

The San Diego County district attorney's office said Richardson asked for a special hearing on Tuesday and will also appear in court on Dec. 10 for a readiness conference. His trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 12.

Authorities believe Richardson is the man who robbed and raped five women from 2000 to 2001 in San Diego.

DNA evidence collected in 2003 from an attempted sexual assault in Arlington Heights matched DNA that was collected from one of the San Diego crime scenes, police said.

Also, in July, a woman picked Richardson out of a lineup after she scared an intruder out of her Arlington Heights home, police added.

Arlington Heights Police Cmdr. Ken Galinski said his department has yet to receive further lab results. Police want to mount their own evidence before proceeding with local charges, he said.

Richardson has lived in various places across the country. He moved to the Chicago area in 2003, but it's unclear when he arrived in Arlington Heights. He was in the U.S. Navy while in San Diego.