Suspect in series of rapes arrested
Posted on 05/26/2002 11:24:51 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Suspect in series of rapes arrested
05/25/2002
A slamming gate startled 19-year-old Courtney Brucker out of bed during the pre-dawn hours Friday.
Little did she know that her quick thinking in waking up her mother and calling 911 and a neighbor would lead to the arrest of a man suspected of raping nine women in Tarrant and Johnson counties in the last six years.
Police charged 30-year-old Manuel Salamanca Jr. of Cleburne with burglary. But a search of his truck, parked near the Arlington home, uncovered a knife and a pair of gloves that matched the description of those used in several sexual assaults.
Police requested a search warrant for Mr. Salamanca's Cleburne home. There they found the driver's licenses of several sexual assault victims and some of their personal belongings.
Courtesy Manuel Salamanca Jr. |
On Saturday, police upgraded the burglary charge to include the intent to commit sexual assault, and also charged Mr. Salamanca with two counts of aggravated sexual assaults in attacks in Cleburne in March 2002 and October 2001. He was also charged with aggravated robbery in connection with an August 2001 case in Benbrook.
In April, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office reported that DNA from the Cleburne attacks matched evidence from four Burleson rapes, two in 1998, one in 2000 and one in 2001; a Benbrook attack in 2001; and two Arlington cases in 1996 and 1999.
Mr. Salamanca was being held in Arlington Jail on Saturday in lieu of $800,000 bail.
Sgt. Will Johnson of the Arlington Police Department said a neighbor detained Mr. Salamanca until police arrived.
"This broke the case," Mr. Johnson said. The neighbor "merely told him he couldn't leave; he told the guy he needed to wait for police."
Police said Mr. Salamanca worked for Harris Methodist hospitals as a histologist.
"Because there is an ongoing police investigation, we can't release any information," hospital spokeswoman Camille Crim said.
The Arlington teen's mother said Saturday that they were thankful the situation ended peacefully.
"Oh my God, we are so lucky," Carol Brucker said. "If it hadn't been for that gate slamming shut, I think he would've continued to do whatever. ... He would've raped us for sure."
Courtney Brucker said the noise outside woke her up. She woke up her mother, who saw a man running outside in the yard.
The daughter called 911 and their neighbor down the street. He saw a man attempting to get into a truck near the home and blocked his path until police arrived.
E-mail mbarco@dallasnews.com
Well Mr. Slamander we got a new type of cell for you to examine....
Wow y'all Texicans don't f**k around, huh... Talk about some neighborhood action there. I'm impressed.
But at a dance hall down in Texas
That's the finest place to be
The women they all look beautiful
And their men will buy your beer for free
Texas men will buy your beer for free because they ain't worried you're gonna mess with their women :) Or their truck, or......
I have always felt that if I were a criminal, I would not want to live in Texas.
Oops, I forgot to ping you, ex con!
No, but he was not going to let the guy get away under any circumstances.
He ran after the guy, reached into his truck and grabbed the wheel. The scumbag hit the neighbor with both fists, and the neighbor (The news report I saw called him "Bubba") said, "Is that the best you can do?" So the perv hit Bubba again, with both fists, and this time Bubba said, "That wasn't even as hard as the first time." Bubba said the perp was gettin' really pissed. I think Bubba was willing to go a few more rounds with the perv.
I saw the neighbor interviewed on a local channel...I'll see if I can find a link.
LMFAO!!! Dude, that's excellent...
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