- Police were identified as suspects from a tip within the local community.
- The suspect’s DNA was already in the police database due to a criminal past
- Both incidents involve
- The boy does not have a name because it is not yet clear whether he will be tried as an adult or a minor.
- d attacking women in their own homes
- Police previously exonerated a 22-year-old man in connection with the crimes.
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DNA evidence linked the 16-year-old to the assaults, which occurred a week apart between Oct. 18 and Oct. 24, police said.
The boy’s name has not been released because he is a minor and it has not yet been determined whether he will be tried as an adult.
Police said the suspect entered an apartment at the Camden San Paloma apartment complex through an unlocked patio door.
He is being held on charges of sexual assault, kidnapping and robbery, and police believe he may be connected to more crimes in the area, according to a local Arizona television station. KPHO CBS 5.
Police were led to the suspect through a lead in the Scottsdale community, according to Sgt. Mark Clark of the Scottsdale Police Department.
The suspect’s DNA was already in the police agency’s database because he has a criminal past that includes crimes related to those he is currently detained.
Authorities did not provide further details about the boy’s previous crimes.
They said DNA testing is ongoing, while police collected additional samples from the suspect’s home through a search warrant.
The DNA samples that were on file have already been linked to both attacks.
Victims of the rapes were unable to identify the boy in a lineup of suspects, but police say there are some similarities between his appearance and a composite sketch of the suspect that was drawn with the help of the police’s description of his attacker. victim.
In both attacks, the attacker entered first-floor apartments through the open patio doors of women who live alone.
In the first attack, which occurred at 11 p.m. on October 18, the attacker entered an apartment naked and raped the 49-year-old woman who lived there, who had just finished showering.
He later fled, still naked. The second assault occurred at an apartment building across the street around 11:30 p.m. on October 24.
The victim, 29, was sitting on a couch near the door in her nightgown when the attacker burst in, police said.
On Thursday, a day before police arrested the teen, authorities exonerated a 22-year-old man who had been arrested earlier for the same crimes.
Police said the forensic evidence did not match DNA samples collected at the crime scene.
The entire community has been on alert as the investigation progressed, with police urging residents to keep doors and windows locked and blinds closed.
The suspect was described as a black man approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall with an athletic build.