Suspected ‘East Coast Rapist’ Captured After 12-Year Terror Rampage
- Posted on March 5, 2011 at 3:30pm by
Emily Esfahani Smith
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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP/THE BLAZE) — DNA confirmed that a man arrested Friday in Connecticut is the East Coast Rapist suspected of terrorizing women with sexual assaults from Virginia to Rhode Island over 12 years, police said Saturday.
Lt. Julie Johnson said DNA was collected and subsequently matched by the state police forensic lab confirming 39-year-old Aaron Thomas was the East Coast Rapist.
New Haven police have a warrant charging Thomas with first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor and he was being held on $1 million bond, Johnson said. Authorities in Prince William County, Virginia, are charging him with being a fugitive as well as rape and abduction charges and use of a firearm while committing a felony.
The East Coast Rapist is wanted for 17 rapes and other attacks in Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia that began in 1997. The cases were linked by DNA.
Authorities recently put up electronic billboards in the states where the attacks occurred and neighboring states. U.S. Marshal Joe Faughnan said a tip from Prince William County, Virginia, directed them to Thomas.
“Although the information and investigation of Thomas developed quickly over the last week or so, we should point out that investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case,” Johnson said. “This was truly a joint collaboration on all levels. We are proud of our investigation and hope the arrest of Aaron Thomas brings some closure to our victims and our communities.”
Thomas could not be reached for comment; it was not known if he had legal representation. Thomas is scheduled to appear Monday in New Haven Superior Court.
Johnson did not take questions during the brief news conference.
A neighbor said Thomas was dating a woman in a yellow colonial house in one of New Haven’s finest neighborhoods. The woman, who refused to give her name, said Saturday that Thomas is a truck driver and parked his tractor trailer in the residential neighborhood, but he seemed to be unemployed and would offer to paint or rake leaves for neighbors.
Thomas was known to ride his bicycle around the neighborhood, the neighbor said. She said there were children at his girlfriend’s house.
Police would not allow a reporter to knock on the door.
At a two-family house listed as Thomas’ address, a police officer in uniform answered the door Friday night and said nobody wanted to make a statement. The house, in a densely populated New Haven neighborhood, has a large porch and a white picket fence with a sign warning the premises are protected by a security company.
A neighbor, 39-year-old Tom Chambers, said he often saw Thomas coming and going but he did not know him well.
“He was just normal,” Chambers said.
Thomas was not entirely unknown to law enforcement: He had been arrested in September in Woodbridge, Conn., on a larceny charge and was released on $1,000 bond, according to public records.
He had lived previously at addresses in Maryland and Virginia, according to public records.
The assailant eluded police even though the crimes were often committed outdoors, law enforcement officials say.
In some instances, the attacker wore a mask or hooded sweat shirt to conceal his face. He typically approached women outdoors on foot and threatened them with a knife, screwdriver or a handgun, investigators say.
The only attack in New Haven came on Jan. 10, 2007. Police said the suspect entered a 27-year-old woman’s bedroom through an open window and threatened to kill her sleeping infant son before assaulting her.
The last known attack occurred on Halloween night in 2009, when two teenagers on their way home from trick-or-treating in Woodbridge, Va., were raped, authorities say.
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warloch
Posted on March 7, 2011 at 11:26amAfter the ACLU and his liberal defense attorney twist the constitution and go over the police procedures with a fine tooth comb looking for an undotted i on some police form and some liberal judge decides to throw out proof positive evidence based on the undotted i they might get a conviction for J-walking. You have to love liberal and RINO law makers they have the best interest of society and children at heart.
Report Post »Mrs. maggot
Posted on March 7, 2011 at 6:18amGlad to see the story ‘s has now been corrected….
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 5:13pmI cannot believe this s legal. What a nightmare.
Report Post »_waTson_
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 3:23pmSomething is very very wrong when a man accused of these types of crimes is allowed to question his victims. VERY VERY SAD! And the can you describe me question .. what a dumbass. Sheesh.
Report Post »hopnmad
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 5:24pmthis is obviously playing into his sick little game of controlling women through fear and intimidation..even in court he wants to do this? to intimidate the women he’s raped and cause them to clam up..well, I hope it backfires on his sorry butt! I hope the women stay strong and testify without fear against this buffoon..one could hope, that in prison, he gets a taste of his own medicine!
Report Post »Bronco II
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 12:32pmGOD said the wicked don‘t get away with anything they get caught sooner or later and it’s on GODS TIME not ours.
Report Post »paulamadden
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 12:10pmI’m glad they have the DNA evidence to put this bastard away….for life….so he can be raped daily in prison.
Report Post »tige33
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 11:55amSomething about this story is not right. Mrs. Maggot you are correct the pics are the same, down to the tie he’s wearing.
Report Post »Mrs. maggot
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 1:06pmAdd your commentsthank you. I recognized Luis Harris we saw so much coverage here.
Report Post »Mrs. maggot
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 11:02amTaquoshi,
Report Post »I’m looking at the article on this page.The article was written Sat. March 5th. It states Thomas was arrested on Fri. Then shows a pic of Luis Harris which it identifies as Aaron Thomas and says he was in court on Tue. Thomas was arrested on March 4.There is no chronology here. What is here is two stories that have been melded into one
the pics that the Blaze have up are of Luis Harris, we seen him on TV for months here in Florida, if you click on the link, you’ll see the same pic, of Harris, in the same suit, same tie. I don’t believe a pic of Thomas has been released yet.
Mrs. maggot
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 8:44amThis story has thrown me for a loop this morning. I believe the pictures that you have of Aaron Thomas are actually pictures of Luis Harris, a rapist in Florida ,who impersonated a police officer, assaulted a woman and ended up defending himself in court. Somehow I think these eerily similar stories have gotten amalgamated. If Thomas was arrested on Fri, and I’ve read elsewhere, tried to hang himself on Sat., how did he represent himself in court on Tues, when he isn’t scheduled to appear in court until Mon.?
Time travel maybe? Think I’ll watch some LOST.
compare the pics of Luis Harris to the ones you posted on this page…..
http://www.google.com/images?q=Luis+Munuzuri+Harris&hl=en&prmd=ivnso&source=lnms&tbs=isch:1&ei=9YRzTbzRD8P_lge4x-WBAQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBAQ_AUoAQ&biw=1004&bih=807&sout=0
Taquoshi
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 10:43amMrs. Maggot -
I think you are looking at different news stories published at different times. My take on it is they picked him up on Friday (2/26), he tried to hang himself on Saturday (2/27), he was given treatment and then appeared in court on Monday (2/28) to have the charges announced. I believe that all happened last week. The upcoming hearing is scheduled on Tuesday (3/8). I could be wrong, but I think that’s how the chronology went.
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 10:45amWhoops, my bad. He was in court on TUESDAY, (3/1) and the next court appearance I believe will be on Monday, (3/7).
Report Post »exdem
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 5:05pmI looked at the link. Same guy same tie!
Report Post »Fina Biscotti
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 8:40amWait until his true background comes out……he is not so innocent……and there is a reason that he tried to hang himself……….caught as a nasty, serial sexual predator.
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 4:54amHe is asking questions – so yes, he speaks English – did you list to the tape or read the story? That is rather stupid question!!! http://wp.me/pYLB7-IH
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 4:10amCan he speak English?
Report Post »Kirsys
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 12:19pmSorry but I dont get what speaking english has to do with this. I think being raped by an all american boy or black or spanish will leave me the same, devastated.
Report Post »hopnmad
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 5:04pm@ Kirsys
I agree it doesn’t matter what race he is – it matters what he’s done; rape is such a disgusting and horrible crime against these women – I hope they throw the book at him!
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on March 6, 2011 at 5:10pmSearching… really? Did you listen to the video? Search a little harder.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on March 8, 2011 at 7:05amPay heed here. While catching this guy is a good thing it was his DNA taken from a discarded cigarette butt that convicted him. You and I leave DNA everyplace we go. I remember a case where a cop was following a guy discretely and when he spit out his window the cop stopped and collected it. The guy was convicted based on his DNA ‘match’ from that ‘evidence’.
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