DOWNTOWN VIOLENCE: Two women almost raped

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS FROM A NEWS RELEASE SENT TO THE WWAY NEWSCHANNEL 3 NEWSROOM FROM THE WILMINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT:

Case#: 2010-026053
Time: July 24, 2010 – 3:12 a.m. (Saturday morning)
Location: 400 block of Brunswick Street
Summary: As the woman, age 43, walked north on 4th Street toward a friend’s house, a man approached her and asked for a cigarette. According to the victim, she gave the man a cigarette and continued to walk. As she was crossing the vacant lot at the corner of 4th and Brunswick Street, the man came up behind the victim and either pushed or tripped her, knocking her to the ground. As he held her down, the man pulled down the victim’s panties. A vehicle pulled up beside the vacant lot, apparently startling the man, and he ran away.

The victim described her attacker as a black male with short hair, 6’ – 6’3”, 185 – 200 pounds, muscular build, wearing khaki pants and a dark blue sweatshirt.

Case#: 2010-027352
Time: August 3, 2010 – 3:30 a.m. (Tuesday morning)
Location: 6th & Campbell Streets
Summary: The victim, age 24, reported that as she was walking home from downtown, a man approached her near 3rd and Red Cross Streets and asked her for money. The victim said she didn’t respond and kept walking, but the man kept walking with her. The victim said he grabbed her purse and tried to pull it away. When she began to run, the man chased her, tackling her to the ground near 6th and Campbell Streets. As the victim struggled, the man tried to pull down her panties. The victim began screaming, and a man from a nearby house turned on his porch light and came outside to check. When the attacker saw the man, he ran away.

The victim described her attacker as a black male, bald, approximately 6’ tall, 200 pounds, wearing a dark-colored polo shirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the Wilmington Police Department at 910-343-3600. Information may be submitted anonymously through Text-A-Tip. Enter “Tip 708” and the message and send to CRIMES (274637).