Man held in Costa Mesa sex assaults

A Costa Mesa man suspected in several violent and unsolved sexual assaults has been arrested with the help of a DNA collection law, authorities said Tuesday.

The arrest was the 2,000th match in the state’s DNA lab. Proposition 69 mandates DNA samples be taken from convicted felons and those arrested on certain charges. The amount of matches has doubled in the state database since the proposition passed in 2004, officials said.

Ronald Steven Krokum, 34, is believed to be the man responsible for at least two kidnappings and sexual assaults in Costa Mesa, police said.

“Because of Prop. 69 we got a dangerous rapist off the street today,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

Costa Mesa police arrested Krokum at his Costa Mesa home Thursday. He is charged with one count of rape and multiple counts of kidnapping and threatening, police said.

Since Proposition 69 passed, there have been 111 matches between criminal DNA and crime scene DNA in Orange County alone, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona said.

This case is a “perfect example” of how Proposition 69 is working to solve cold cases in Orange County and across the state, Carona said.

“I’m thrilled,” Costa Mesa Police Capt. Ron Smith said. “This is what technology is all about for us cops.”

Police believe Krokum is responsible for the 1998 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 35-year-old Costa Mesa woman. Krokum allegedly grabbed the woman off the street, threatened her and forced her to perform oral sex, Smith said.

There were no witnesses, no license plate was recorded, and police had little description to go on ? the case was cold, Smith said.

In 2003, Costa Mesa police received a report of a similar crime. A 24-year-old woman told police that a man she met offered her a job and when she refused it, he threatened her.

The man drove her underneath a freeway overpass and told her he would kill her unless she had sex with him. The woman identified the man as Krokum and gave police his cellphone number.

Police contacted Krokum, but the district attorney said there wasn’t enough evidence to press charges, Smith said.

Krokum was arrested once more in May 2005, on suspicion of drug possession and a parole violation, something that made him eligible to have his DNA taken under Proposition 69, Smith said. His DNA sample was filed in the statewide database.

Costa Mesa police were notified March 20 that Krokum’s DNA had a match in the system, Smith said.

“But for Prop. 69, it might have never been solved,” said Nathan Marenkon, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office.

Under Proposition 69, anyone arrested on suspicion of murder, voluntary manslaughter or certain sex offenses must also provide a DNA sample, Marenkon said.

Because the DNA database is backlogged, delays exist between the time a swab is taken and when a search is run, Marenkon said.

Each week, the state attorney general’s office compares DNA swabs taken from criminals with DNA swabs taken from crime scenes and looks for matches, Marenkon said.

Though no statistics are available on how many arrests or convictions have resulted from Proposition 69, Marenkon said it’s been extremely successful in solving cold cases.

“A lot of cases have been solved, and as a result, criminals are being taken out of circulation earlier in their criminal lifespan,” Marenkon said.