Thread: Update on Hispanic Accused of Rape in North Carolina

This article can be found at www.journalnow.com



DNA links man, rapes
Police file charges in 4 sexual attacks
By Dan Galindo
JOURNAL REPORTER
Sunday, October 30, 2005


DNA evidence from a routine house break-in in August eventually led Winston-Salem police to the man they have charged in connection with a string of sexual assaults earlier this year.

The arrest Friday night of Gilberto Cruz Hernandez, 24, came after police received a phone call at 4 p.m. from the state's crime lab in Raleigh. Investigators learned of a DNA match from the break-in to evidence taken from the scenes of sexual assaults in February.

The Criminal Investigations Division received a fax confirming the match and began checking Hernandez's background, said Capt. Jim Tesh.

Hernandez was arrested without incident that night at his home at 385 Camden Ridge Drive, Tesh said. Hernandez is charged with three counts of rape in connection with assaults on:

• Feb. 1 on Penner Street.

• Feb. 5 on Polo Road.

• Feb. 17 on Bethabara Hills Court.

He is charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault in connection with an incident on Commercial Plaza Street on Feb. 22, and with three counts of first-degree burglary and one count of breaking and entering.

No one answered the door at Hernandez's home yesterday.

At a news conference yesterday, Tesh spoke confidently about the case that detectives have built against Hernandez, saying that he expected police to file additional charges this week.

"It is with pleasure to stand up here and tell you we have arrested Mr. Hernandez in this case," Tesh said.

Police will examine other sexual assaults in light of Hernandez's arrest, he said.

Winston-Salem and Greensboro police had identified six cases that they believe are linked, and had identified at least three more cases that may be related.

The detective working the case in Greensboro could not be reached yesterday.

Police had said that the rapist wore a ski mask or face covering and carried a semiautomatic handgun in several of the cases.

He entered apartments of women, who in most cases were alone, through unlocked doors or windows and most attacks happened in the early morning hours. Tesh and District Attorney Tom Keith both said the arrest was a product of solid police work and modern police technology.

The details of the August break-in have not been made public, though police said they will release more information early this week. Tesh described the break-in as a misdemeanor-level case and said that detectives following up on the incident became aware of Hernandez. He was not charged in the case.

Asked whether Hernandez had a criminal record, Tesh would say only that he has had "some contact" with the police department.

A search of online court and N.C. Department of Corrections records shows that Hernandez has been stopped for driving-related infractions, but does not appear to have been convicted of any felonies. Police said that information on the driving infractions would be released possibly as soon as Monday.

Tesh said that detectives searched Hernandez's home Friday night, and that the search warrant had been returned. The only returned search warrant at the magistrate's office yesterday was sealed by judge's order.

Hernandez's photograph has not been released because police say they need to show photo line-ups and investigate other cases. Hernandez was being held at the Forsyth County Jail last night with bond set at $1.5 million.

• Dan Galindo can be reached at 727-7377 or at dgalindo@wsjournal.com

I have emailed the reporter who wrote this article and asked if Mr. Hernandez' residence status has been determined. Will call if I don't hear back from him. On another thread about this topic, Testament has questioned whether a couple of us have jumped to the conclusion that, just because he was Hispanic, he was here ILLEGALLY. We just want the facts so will follow up to get them.

Gee I hope they read him his rights in Spanish, if not they may have a legal challenge on their hands

99.9 % chance he is illegal. Just think these crimes were probable preventable. If our boarder was closed. Which makes them George Bush's fault.

Originally Posted by Bootsie

I have emailed the reporter who wrote this article and asked if Mr. Hernandez' residence status has been determined. Will call if I don't hear back from him. On another thread about this topic, Testament has questioned whether a couple of us have jumped to the conclusion that, just because he was Hispanic, he was here ILLEGALLY. We just want the facts so will follow up to get them.

I have emailed WECT Channel 6 in Wilmington 3 times on 2 different cases. They still have not answered my 1 st email. They are very slack on reporting of illegal immigration items.

I have his phone number. I'll just call him.

Bootsie'
I actually got a response to the email I sent this morning. My emailed this AM pretained to two case, past emails, why don't you all cover illegal immigration crimes in our area, etc. Mr. Brown's response was all of 6 words.
"Thank you, Charles, for the information"

Oh, wonderful! Well, I tried to call this one at work. Not there. Gave a cell phone number. Didn't answer! I'll keep trying! For whatever good that will do!

Well--this is a START. The reporter DID contact me and, at least he said more than yours did, COI!!!

Hi Ms. Koonts,

We're looking into that. I wish I could tell you more, but we don't know more... yet.

Thanks for writing. Best,

Dan

Originally Posted by Bootsie

Well--this is a START. The reporter DID contact me and, at least he said more than yours did, COI!!!

Hi Ms. Koonts,

We're looking into that. I wish I could tell you more, but we don't know more... yet.

Thanks for writing. Best,

Dan

Bootsie,
that's a book compared to what I got.