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DALLAS — Dallas police say they have arrested a suspect in their investigation of three sexual assaults in Lake Highlands.
Cesar Benitez, 30, was captured Tuesday afternoon after a Crime Stoppers tip provided specific information.
At a news conference Tuesday night, Chief David Brown said Benitez was pulled over for a traffic violation on Central Expressway around 1 p.m. Tuesday. He exited at Walnut Hill and then fled on foot.
Benitez was captured without incident following a brief pursuit.
"This was a needle-in-a-haystack search," Brown said.
The chief said Benitez voluntarily confessed to all three crimes and provided DNA samples for lab analysis.
He is currently charged with one count of sexual assault for a March 15 assault in the 10000 block of Ferndale and with one count of aggravated assault for a February 22 offense on the same street.
Brown said a palm print taken from the March 15 crime scene matched Benitez.
He has not yet been charged with the March 19 assault pending a determination of the appropriate charge.
Bond was set at $4,564,000.
"This neighborhood has lived in fear," Chief Brown said. "We hope that they have some sense of relief that a suspect has been brought to justice."
Police officials asked the news media not to publish any photos of Benitez until their investigation of the March 19 offense is complete.
Sources told News 8 officers had been watching the man for a week because he matched the description of the serial rapist who has been terrorizing women in Lake Highlands, and he has a history of behavior that leads them to believe he might be capable of rape.
Dallas police previously revealed DNA testing on samples taken in three sexual assaults in the area connected one unknown person to the attacks.
The first rape was reported on February 22, and the last was reported on March 19.
DALLAS — Dallas police say they have arrested a suspect in their investigation of three sexual assaults in Lake Highlands.
Cesar Benitez, 30, was captured Tuesday afternoon after a Crime Stoppers tip provided specific information.
At a news conference Tuesday night, Chief David Brown said Benitez was pulled over for a traffic violation on Central Expressway around 1 p.m. Tuesday. He exited at Walnut Hill and then fled on foot.
Benitez was captured without incident following a brief pursuit.
"This was a needle-in-a-haystack search," Brown said.
The chief said Benitez voluntarily confessed to all three crimes and provided DNA samples for lab analysis.
He is currently charged with one count of sexual assault for a March 15 assault in the 10000 block of Ferndale and with one count of aggravated assault for a February 22 offense on the same street.
Brown said a palm print taken from the March 15 crime scene matched Benitez.
He has not yet been charged with the March 19 assault pending a determination of the appropriate charge.
Bond was set at $4,564,000.
"This neighborhood has lived in fear," Chief Brown said. "We hope that they have some sense of relief that a suspect has been brought to justice."
Police officials asked the news media not to publish any photos of Benitez until their investigation of the March 19 offense is complete.
Sources told News 8 officers had been watching the man for a week because he matched the description of the serial rapist who has been terrorizing women in Lake Highlands, and he has a history of behavior that leads them to believe he might be capable of rape.
Dallas police previously revealed DNA testing on samples taken in three sexual assaults in the area connected one unknown person to the attacks.
The first rape was reported on February 22, and the last was reported on March 19.
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