Detectives are searching for a rapist who attacked a woman in Coconut Grove in the predawn hours of Saturday morning, less than a block away from another reported rape earlier this month.

The woman in her mid-20s was waiting for her boyfriend in her car on Mary Street at 3:30 a.m., when a man with a bandana covering his face opened the door and threatened her at gunpoint, police said. He then drove the car into a dark parking lot a few blocks away, where he raped her.

Police provided a computer-generated rendering of a man accused of raping another woman in Coconut Grove on Halloween, and department spokesman Jeff Giordano noted that both women gave similar descriptions of their attacker.

Detectives are looking for a black man, about five foot seven inches, 175 pounds, medium build, last seen wearing blue jeans, a black wind breaker and a dark shirt, with a black skullcap and a red and white bandana covering his face.

However, investigators are not certain whether they are looking for the same attacker and aren't calling it serial rape.

``We're not calling it a serial rapist yet. The legal definition is three or more. We're not sure of any other occurrences,'' Giordano said.

SCREAMS IGNORED

In the first case, a young woman returning from her late-night work shift was attacked inside the gated complex of her Grove apartment.

Giordano said the woman's friends dropped her off and were driving away once she got past the gate, when a man dressed like a ninja attacked her. Neighbors admitted to hearing her screams, which they assumed were part of the Halloween festivities outside, Giordano said.

That incident happened less than a block south of Saturday's attack, according to the All-Grove Crime Watch's co-chair, Robert Loupo.

BATHED IN RED

Saturday's predawn attack started in the 3200 block of Mary Street, where the masked man rushed up to her car and pushed her into the passenger seat at gunpoint, police said. He then drove the car one street west, pulling into a dark parking lot behind the three-story apartment building at 3219 Virginia St., where he raped her. He then took her wallet and car keys and ran away.

That parking lot was well lit until late last month, when the only two white lights stopped working and were replaced by a dim bulb that bathed the lot in red. Hours after detectives left the crime scene, electricians were called in to repair both white lights.

WALKING ALL TIMES

Upon hearing about both attacks, 27-year-old building tenant Lalita Garcia noted that Virginia Street is often traveled by women walking back from a nearby 24-hour gym or the bars at CocoWalk a few blocks away.

``It's scary. Coconut Grove is an area where everyone's accustomed to walking at all times,'' she said.

Andres Lemos, a captain with Citizens On Patrol, said his group will likely plan a neighborhood patrol later this week.

``This is a tight-knit community. It's very alarming,'' he said. ``We definitely don't want to see a third and fourth incident take place.''

Anyone with information can call Miami Police's Special Victims Unit at 305-603-6300 or Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.