Dewayne Turner, 32
It was about 5 a.m. on Jan. 12 when a Lake Highlands woman realized she was not alone in her residence in the 6200 block of Melody Lane. The stranger held her at knifepoint, and spent around 12 hours terrorizing and assaulting the woman.
Then he fled.
At 6 p.m., the woman called 911. Police immediately began the search by reviewing video surveillance tapes from businesses around the area, looking for any sign of where the suspect may have headed after the assault. They had a struck of luck when not only was the man, with his uniquely orange hair, caught on camera, the business owner recognized him from a prior disturbance at the establishment. It allowed police to identify the man as Dewayne Turner, 32.
The next day, police located Turner less than half a mile from the scene of the crime, walking down the 6100 block of Ridgecrest. When he was detained, police found a knife that matched the victim’s description of the weapon used in the attack, along with noting that his tattoos also aligned with the victim’s statement.
He was booked into jail for aggravated sexual assault, with bail set at $50,000. Police say he has prior local arrests for theft. They are submitting his DNA to a national crime database to see if he matches any other reported rapes.
It marks the second time in four months that a suspect has broken into a single woman’s home on Melody Lane to commit a sexual assault. There is no word from police if the cases are connected.
