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DNA leads to arrest in 2015 Baltimore County rape case

Posted at 10:26 AM, Oct 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-04 06:16:22-04
On the night in question back in May of 2015, the rapist covered his face with a scarf and even after his arrest, the victim couldn't identify him, but there was no mistaking the genetic code he left behind.
 
The home invasion and rape unfolded at an apartment complex on Colchester Road. A 26-year-old woman was caught home alone.
 
"Around two o'clock in the morning, a woman opened her front door to go to work and was confronted by the suspect,” said Cpl. John Wachter with the Baltimore County Police Department, “When she saw him, she immediately screamed, shut the door, locked the deadbolt.  The suspect started banging on the door and he banged on the door so hard that he was able to force the door in and enter the apartment.  He later took the victim in her bedroom where he raped her."
 
According to charging documents, the rapist forced her to take a bath after the assault, apologized for the crime, gave her a hug and disappeared into the night.
 
A DNA match has now led police to 36-year-old Alphonso Dewayne Owens who lives just a few miles away from the scene of the attack on Caton Avenue. Neighbors are reacting to news of his arrest.
 
"Maybe because he's got some sort of mental complex and he thinks he's kind of a Don Juan kind of guy,” said F. Bethea, “I don't know, but he was always a little overconfident, and I didn't like the way he treated his old lady either."
 
In fact, it appears an alleged assault on his girlfriend may have led to Owen's undoing.
 
In May, police spotted her running along route 40 with a bloodied face after Owens allegedly punched her repeatedly while they were riding in his tow truck after he became jealous that she was talking to other men.
 
She was beaten so badly it required surgery to repair her right eye.
 
He was arrested, giving up his freedom and a sample of his DNA, which would link him to his earlier crime.
 
"If he's the guy, I hope they hang him by his toenails or whatever," Bethea said, "My old lady never trusted him anyway.  She always said he was a little strange."
 
And Owens may yet be tied to another rape that happened in the same Catonsville apartment complex a few months earlier.
 
A police sketch of the suspect in that case appears to be a mirror image of Owens and it may just be a matter of time until a DNA match can close that case as well.
 
Police say there could be more victims out there, and anyone with information can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP. 
 
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