Santa Maria man faces life in prison for raping prostitutes at gunpoint

A Santa Maria man was convicted by a jury on Thursday of raping and robbing two prostitutes at gunpoint in separate incidents in 2013.

Following a week-long trial, Gregory Arthur Erwin, 52, was found guilty of 12 felony charges including forcible rape with the use of a firearm, assault with a firearm and residential robbery. He faces a minimum of 100 years to life in state prison for four of the charges and additional time for the remainder when he is sentenced April 7 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

District Attorney Dan Dow said Erwin contacted the two women, both 21 years old, online and met them at hotels under the agreement of sex for money. Erwin was arrested in March 2013 at his Santa Maria home after a woman at the San Luis Inn and Suites on Santa Rosa Street told police Erwin raped her at gunpoint while threatening to kill her, then took cash from her purse and left, San Luis Obispo Police said.

The woman — Erwin’s second, Dow said — followed him to the hotel’s parking lot and got his license plate, which she gave to authorities. On Thursday, Dow praised the victim for her bravery in reporting the crime and leading investigators to Erwin.

Erwin has remained in custody in the San Luis Obispo County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail since his arrest.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Santa Maria man faces life in prison for raping prostitutes at gunpoint."