Mountain View police arrested a man Saturday morning in connection to a sexual assault incident at Creekside Park.
Sergio Martinez, 30 was arrested for attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment and prowling charges after a woman said she attacked from behind as she walked near the park.
Two people walking nearby heard the altercation, the suspect became alarmed and fled the scene.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday, Mountain View police responded to reports of a prowler on the 200 block of Easy Street that matched the description of the suspect who attacked the woman.
Detectives later determined Martinez was the same man who attacked the woman Friday evening.
"Our officers were alert, they pieced information together quickly, and our investigators were incredible in helping start to close out this terrifying experience,” said Lt. Armando Espitia.
As it turns out, the attack Friday was the second to take place at Creekside Park this year. A woman was attacked in the same area in February, in an unrelated incident. Just as in the assault Friday, that woman also fought off her attacker. In both incidents the women saved themselves and helped lead police to the suspects.
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Janet Gahagen has lived in the neighborhood for ten years and regularly rides her bike through Creekside Park. "It's really pretty through here, but it's also a place where people can really take cover and really hide out," she said. "It's just nerve-wracking knowing that, in what I thought was a safe neighborhood, there's been two assaults."
Police are looking into the possibility that Martinez may have had additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at robert.medina@mountainview.gov.
