In the Sacramento area he was known as the East Area Rapist, and was linked by modus operandi to additional attacks in Contra Costa County, Stockton, and Modesto. He was later known for his southern California crimes as the Original Night Stalker. He is suspected to have begun as a burglar (the Visalia Ransacker) before moving to the Sacramento area, based on a similar modus operandi and circumstantial evidence.[7][8] He taunted and threatened his victims and police in obscene phone calls and other communications.