Authorities in Salinas announced Tuesday that they have linked a man through DNA to a rape cold case from 2009.
Juan Antonio Garcia Jimenez, 39, was arrested on Thursday after DNA taken from him this year in another case allegedly linked him to the 15-year-old crime.
In December 2009, police responded to a 911 hang-up at a residence in the Laurelwood community of Salinas. A woman there, known as Jane Doe in the case, said she was inside her house when an unknown man entered her unlocked door. He was wearing dark clothing and a ski mask, she said. The suspect dragged her by her hair into her bedroom and then forcibly raped her, later fleeing the scene.
Police set up a perimeter to try and catch the suspect, but he was never located.
Doe was taken to the hospital for care and medical staff collected a SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) kit. DNA from her examination was sent to the California Department of Justice lab.
According to the Monterey County District Attorney's office, an extensive follow-up investigation ensued, but produced no leads.
This year, the District Attorney's cold case task force along with other authorities began using modern forensic techniques to gather additional leads in the case based on DNA developed from the crime scene. While that process was underway, law enforcement received a match from CODIS, or the Combined Offender DNA Index System. The alleged match was the result of Jimenez's felony arrest in February, when a swab of his DNA from him was taken, prosecutors said.
The District Attorney said another sample of his DNA was taken after his arrest last week to be sure it was a match.
Jimenez has been charged with rape, assault and the intent to commit rape, along with other charges, prosecutors said.
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