Police arrest suspect in rape of 2 Detroit women, ages 80 and 64
Update: Police Tuesday evening announced the man's arrest. "Detroit Police officers have arrested Kenneth Davis Jr., who was wanted for the sexual assaults of two women. Thank you to our community activists and residents for their support," the department announced.
Police are on the hunt for a suspect in the March 26 rape of an 80-year-old Detroit woman, and they believe he attacked another woman Monday.
Detroit Police Chief James White on Tuesday identified the suspect as Kenneth Davis Jr. He has not been located or charged. Police released a photograph of the man and asked for help finding him.
"If he is watching, it is my request that he turns himself in," White said Tuesday during a news conference at Detroit Public Safety Headquarters.
"We will pursue him relentlessly, and hour by hour, until we get him off the street," White said. "We don't want him to strike again."
A little over a week after the 80-year-old woman was dragged outside of her northwest Detroit home on Memorial Street and sexually assaulted, police believe the same attacker raped a 64-year-old woman about a mile away on Monday, near Grand River Avenue and Ferguson Street.
"This heinous act has really rocked the community," White said during Tuesday's news conference.
Dozens of community members, including White himself canvassed the area after the first incident, handing out flyers with a sketch of the suspect and vowing to bring the attacker to justice.
White thanked the community, as well as his Special Victims Unit officers working the case.
"They have worked tirelessly, tirelessly on this case. The detectives in that unit take all these cases seriously. But I will tell you that there has been a number of sleepless nights working this case," White said.
White urged those who know Davis Jr.'s location to contact police. He also warned the community not to engage with the suspect.
"We do not want anyone out there trying to make a citizen's arrest or to stop him or engage with him in any way. Leave that to us," he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.
Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. She can be contacted at 313-264-0442, asahouri@freepress.com or on Twitter @andreamsahouri.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit police arrest suspect in rape of 2 women, ages 80 and 64
