A man accused of sexually assaulting women at a Framingham department store in the 1980s has been arrested after leading police on a chase in Los Angeles.
According to Los Angeles news outlets, police arrested 71-year-old Stephen Paul Gale on Thursday when he turned himself in to police shortly before 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in May identified Gale as the suspect in connection with a 34-year-old rape case at the former Hit or Miss store on Route 9 in Framingham.
At the time of identification, the U.S. Marshals Service announced that it would offer a $5,000 reward for information leading to Gale’s arrest.
This sparked a nationwide manhunt that culminated in a chase through various neighborhoods in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Gale is charged with four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and an armed robbery of two women that occurred more than 30 years ago.
Driving a dark-colored Lincoln SUV, Gale drove at “moderate speeds” and “obeyed stop signs” while leading the chase on the 405 Freeway and city streets, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.
“He was able to avoid spike barriers and PIT maneuvers for most of the chase,” the network reported. “However, Gale drove through a spike barrier in the Westwood area and suffered at least one flat tire. He did not slow down after the spike barrier and was observed driving around the crowded UCLA medical area.”
The pursuit began before 4 p.m. Pacific Time in the Wilmington neighborhood. Gale finally surrendered more than an hour later.
Gale, who is 6’1″ tall and weighs about 200 pounds, was last seen living in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He may also have ties to Arizona, Texas, Utah and Florida. He has previously been linked to organized crime.
Gale’s “horrific” rape case has “haunted” the Framingham community for decades, officials said in May.
The alleged crime occurred on Dec. 27, 1989, when Gale entered the Hit or Miss department store, displayed a .357 Magnum handgun and forced two female employees into the back of the store, police said.
He forced one of the women to put the money from a locked safe, the store’s cash register and her wallet into a bag. He ordered the second victim to lock the doors and put a sign on the front door saying the store was open later.
Gale is then accused of forcing the women to remove their clothing and taking them to separate rooms. He sexually assaulted both women while holding the gun to their heads, police said.
When Gale returned to the front entrance of the store, the women fled through the fire door at the back into a nearby house.
Police collected evidence and obtained the suspect’s DNA. A DNA profile of the suspect was created and uploaded to a database in 2001, but there were never any hits identifying the suspect.
In 2022, Middlesex prosecutors and Framingham police hired Parabon Nanolabs to conduct a genetic genealogy investigation to develop new leads to identify the suspect.
After further police investigation, DNA samples were obtained from members of Gale’s family. This DNA evidence provided sufficient evidence of Gale’s identity and led to his arrest warrant.
“Today’s announcement is the result of persistent investigative work and collaboration between law enforcement agencies across the country,” Ryan said in May at her Middlesex district attorney’s office. “When I created our Cold Case Unit in 2019, I committed to exhausting every option available to provide victims with answers.
“I am grateful for the efforts made so far to locate Mr. Gale,” she added, “and I hope that by bringing attention to this case across the country, we can find him so that he can be held accountable for the crimes he is accused of.”
