The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office has charged a Pittsburg man with kidnapping, attempted rape, and assault for an attack on a 20-year-old woman at the Walnut Creek BART station earlier this month.
Richard Lee McDowell, 35, faces three felony counts for the Oct. 7 attack on the Daly City woman. Investigators say McDowell and the victim were on the same train around midnight when McDowell followed her as she exited at the Walnut Creek station.
McDowell allegedly grabbed the victim and forced her into an elevator where the two struggled. The woman was able to activate an emergency alarm in the elevator and McDowell fled while BART police responded. No one else was on the platform at the time, though police had a description and video to investigate.
BART police arrested McDowell last Saturday at the North Concord/Martinez station. He was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility and is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Martinez.
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