A 28-year-old Oakland man was arrested on suspicion of three separate attacks on women in San Francisco within a 10-hour timespan earlier this month, police said Wednesday.
Deandre Johnson was arrested after the string of attacks that started with one reported at 3:13 p.m. on May 7 in the area of Desmond Street and Sunnydale Avenue in the city's Visitacion Valley neighborhood, according to police.
A 28-year-old woman said she was walking by herself when a man started yelling incoherent things and she tried to cross the street to avoid him, but he followed and grabbed her, putting his hand on her throat and pushing her to the ground, police said.
The woman lost consciousness but before that had heard someone's voice call out, and the suspect fled the area before responding officers arrived.
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The next attack was reported at 12:24 a.m. on May 8 at Polk and Willow streets, where an 18-year-old woman said she noticed a man following her, and he then put his arm around her neck from behind while threatening her, according to police.
The woman tried to fight back and was forced to the ground, but was able to get away and the suspect fled.
Less than an hour later, at about 1:10 a.m., a third attack was reported, this time in the 1500 block of Market Street, where witnesses pointed to someone trying to flee south on Van Ness Avenue. Officers took the man into custody and identified him as Johnson.
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Investigators learned the victim in the third attack, a 75-year-old woman, said Johnson had approached her and made threatening demands that were sexual in nature, then assaulted her and dragged her by her feet before bystanders intervened, police said.
Johnson was booked into jail on suspicion of kidnapping to commit rape, elder abuse, assault with the intent to commit rape, battery, and resisting arrest for the third attack, and investigators eventually tied him to the two previous assaults.
