Jury Selection Underway for Accused French Valley Rapist

Jury selection got under way Monday for the trial of a man across the desert before he was captured.

Bryan Mayo Tangas, 23, could face 10 years in prison if convicted of forcible rape, false imprisonment and reckless evading.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Albert Wojcik summoned the first panel of prospective jurors to his Murrieta courtroom Monday morning for screening as to their availability and qualifications. Opening statements in the case are not expected to begin until next week because of the July 4 holiday.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Kevin McDonald, a French Valley woman called deputies shortly after 5 a.m. on Feb. 12 and alleged that a friend had sexually assaulted her at her home in the 32000 block of Dowling Court.

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, told deputies that she managed to get away from Tangas, who drove around trying to find her, but couldn't by the time patrol officers arrived.

A deputy searching in the area of Buck and Borrell roads spotted the 6- foot-3, 180-pound defendant, who immediately fled in his car, speeding onto Rancho California Road toward Temecula, where he reached Interstate 15 and headed north, McDonald said.

Deputies turned the pursuit over to California Highway Patrol officers, who chased Tangas at high speed all the way to Barstow, according to the sergeant.

He said officers deployed spike strips, disabling the defendant's vehicle, at which point he was arrested.

Tangas is in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta.