ALHAMBRA – Police Wednesday arrested a parolee suspected of committing a series of more than 20 armed robberies targeting lone women coming home throughout the western San Gabriel Valley over the past few months, authorities said.

Jose Avila, 29, of Chino was arrested in connection with the series of robberies early Wednesday, according to investigators and sheriff’s booking records. He was already on parole for home-invasion robbery.

Monterey Park police Capt. Gene Harris said as the number of robberies climbed, a task force of officers and detectives from Alhambra, Monterey Park and San Gabriel was assembled for the express purpose of identifying a suspect. It was unclear Wednesday whether others were still being sought.

In the majority of the crimes, which number as many as 20, a suspect confronted women as they arrived at home late at night and robbed them, investigators said.

In March and April, at least nine such robberies were reported in Alhambra, as well as at least nine in San Gabriel and four in Monterey Park, investigators said. In one of the Alhambra cases, a victim was pistol-whipped.

Detectives are also looking into the possibility that crimes in South Pasadena and Arcadia may also be linked, Harris said.

In Arcadia, a woman who arrived home with a small child just after midnight Friday was shot in the face with some sort of BB during a similar robbery, though it was unclear if it was related to the string.

Harris said the task force was working near 6th Street and Valley Boulevard when one of the members spotted a car matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle about 10:20 p.m.

Investigators stopped and searched the car after discovering that the driver, Jose Avila, 29, of Chino was on parole for home-invasion robbery.

Harris said inside the car, they found the gun believed to have been used in the robberies, along with clothing and other evidence that implicated Avila in the crimes. The gun was described as a toy or replica, possibly an “airsoft” gun, which shoots large BBs.

After he was taken into custody, investigators obtained a warrant and searched his home in Chino, where they found items they believe belong to some of the robbery victims.

Avila is being held without bail at the Alhambra jail and is due for arraignment Friday at Alhambra Municipal Court.