US Marshals major case fugitive from Massachusetts arrested after police chase in Los Angeles

Boston, MA – A suspected serial rapist who was a U.S. Marshals (USMS) major case fugitive in the District of Massachusetts was arrested in California Thursday afternoon. 

Stephen Paul Gale, 71, was taken into custody in Los Angeles following a 1 ½-hour pursuit with the Los Angeles Police Department. 

Gale was recently identified through genetic genealogy as the subject responsible for a series of rapes in Boston from 1989 to 1990. At the time, the unknown subject was called the Boston Strip Mall Rapist. Gale was on the run for a number of years before he was publicly identified as the subject and was last seen in 2008. 

The USMS in the District of Massachusetts adopted the case in March 2024, at the request of our local partners, Framingham Police Department, Massachusetts State Police VFAS (Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section), and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office. The investigation was elevated to a Major Case, with a $5,000 reward being offered for information leading to his arrest, and the USMS conducted a series of case coordination meetings with multiple units throughout the agency. 

Recent investigative efforts by the USMS in the District of Nevada and elsewhere led to information on which the USMS Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force (PSWRFTF) was able to take action. 

After Gale fled from PSWRFTF, the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) pursued him until he finally surrendered to them near the Ronald Reagan UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Medical Center.