Man posing as salesman assaults elderly woman in Govans home
GOVANS, Md. —A man posing as a salesman assaulted an elderly woman in her Govans home, Baltimore County police said.
Baltimore
County Fire Department crews were called to a home in the 200 block of
Gaywood Road in Govans for a medical alert alarm where they saw an
elderly woman lying on the floor around 7:45 p.m. Saturday.
After speaking with the woman, officials said fire crews called for police to respond.
Investigators
said between noon and 1 p.m. Saturday a man knocked on the back door to
the home. When the victim came to the door, the man said he was selling
home improvement services. The man left when the victim told him she
had someone who took care of home repairs for her. Several hours later,
the man returned to the home, knocked on the back door, and asked to
come inside. The victim let the man into her home. When she asked the
man when he was going to leave, he threw her to the ground, police said.
Police
said the assailant is described as a white man in his 40s with a tan
complexion. His skin tone is also described as “weathered” like that of a
person who spends a great deal of time outdoors. He is 5 feet 7 inches
to 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs between 170 and 180 pounds and has light
brown/gray short hair with a receding hair line. He was last seen
wearing cargo shorts and may have tattoos on his arms.
Authorities said a person matching that description has been seen in the area recently.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Baltimore County police at 410-307-2020.
Police remind residents to not let people who they do not know into their homes and to report all suspicious activity to police.
- From wbaltv.com
The suspect is described as follows, police said:
- White man in his forties
- Tan complexion with "weathered" skin typical of someone who spends lots of time outdoors
- Light brown/gray hair, cut short with a receding hairline
- 5'7" to 5'8" and 170–180 pounds
- Last seen wearing cargo shorts
- May have tattoos on his arms
- From the North Baltimore Patch
Additional Information on the Attack from an Email received by a neighboring community:
Hi,
I
am so sorry to pass on disturbing news, but I wanted to share this
information about a crime that occurred in our neighborhood this
weekend. Apparently police are also searching the Towson Library area
adjacent to West Towson neighborhoods as well, so I wanted to put
everyone on alert that a dangerous (and devious) suspect is at large. (The forwarded email below has more of the details.)
Our
children and neighbors' kids were at the Rodgers Forge Tot Lot and were
stopped by police Saturday evening as they searched for the man. The
police officer told me and the children that the suspect was wanted for a
"Home Invasion." When the kids asked later what that meant, we said it
may have been an attempted robbery. The kids do not know about the
sexual assault.
I
wanted to share the facts in case news of this was spreading and also
to warn you to be on the lookout for this man. Please read below for a
neighbor and Gaywood Board member's account of the events, including a
recent search in Towson.
Be safe,
(Attached email)
HI All!
I
am sorry to have to send this email, but with this suspect still on the
loose, I thought it EXTREMELY important to make as many of you aware of
this as possible.
In our community of Gaywood, we have private
community property we refer to as the Gaywood Green. It is always just
neighbors because no one knows about it really unless you live here. It
is not visible from any of the streets or even from the alley unless
you go into the alley a little ways.
That said, on Saturday late
afternoon/early evening, a man was planting flowers and interacting with
Gaywood neighbors on the Green. He said he was here doing some yard
work/planting for a neighbor; he inquired of others if he might do some
work for them. He approached several people including a 98-year old
woman whose house backs to the Green. At some point he went into this
woman’s yard and knocked on her door to ask for a glass of water. She
let him into her kitchen and gave him a drink. He apparently spoke for a
bit, asking her age; she asked him his age and he said 50. She then
told him it was time for him to leave.
He disabled her telephone
& threw her to the floor to rape her. Because she is 98 and lives
alone and her son lives in Howard Co., she has Life Alert. Thank God
for small miracles because she thankfully, thankfully, thankfully, was
able to fight back enough and press her Life Alert button that she wears
on her wrist. When Life Alert called the house and did not get an
answer, they immediately dispatched the authorities. Apparently when
you have Life Alert, there is some type of lockbox installed on your
house so that authorities don’t have to break your door down to get to
you. The police arrived and came in the front door, thankfully
interrupting this assault, and he ran out the back door. Thank God, she
was not raped. In being thrown to the floor, however, she did break
her hip. There were neighbors out on the Green at this time and saw
this person running. He is a white man with tattoos and is older. He
was shirtless when he fled.
Apparently, a good description has
been given, the police have fingerprints, and I’ve been told that in
fighting back, she did scratch him so they have some evidence from under
her fingernails.
He has NOT been caught yet.
In fact, I
just spoke with my mother-in-law a short time ago (who I have already
told this info); she works in a dentist’s office on W. Pennsylvania Ave
near the library. The police just came into her office and asked the
staff if an older white man with tattoos had come into their office. My
MIL immediately asked if he was referring to the guy who attempted to
rape the 98-yr old woman in Gaywood on Saturday. The officer replied,
“Yes.” He gave no other info.
Please, please pass this on to anyone you know in the area. And, please, please be vigilant and safe.
B.C.P.D. Precinct # 6 - Crime Blotter Apr 14-20, 2014
(21st through 27th will be included in the next report – as we wanted to get this out ASAP due to the attack)
This is a summary of recent significant police news in your community. For police news from across the entire county, visit our
news archive
Sometime
between 10:30 p.m. on April 18 and 9:00 a.m. on April 19, an unknown
suspect gained entry to the location through an unlocked rear window. A
Vera Bradley backpack, a purse containing a wallet, a watch, and jewelry
were taken from the location.
At
2:53 a.m., the suspect gained entry to Excel Car Care by breaking the
rear bay door window. The suspect fled when the alarm sounded.
Sometime between 12:01 a.m. and 3:36 p.m., an unknown suspect removed a chainsaw from an unlocked shed.
Sometime
between 3:00 p.m. on April 16 and 7:00 a.m. on April 17, an unknown
suspect cut the wires to an air conditioner condenser and removed it
from the back porch of a home.
At
10:30 p.m., the victim heard a scraping sound coming from the living
room window. A screen had possibly been removed from the window and
there were fresh finger prints on the window.
At
10:04 p.m., two suspects approached the victims from behind and stated
"kick it out". One of the suspects was holding a handgun and the other
suspect was holding a knife. The suspects took cell phones from the
victims and fled the scene.
At
approximately 12:00 a.m. on April 14, an officer responding to the area
for a report of a subject breaking into cars observed the suspect
coming out of the garage of a home. The suspect was apprehended after a
brief foot chase. The door from the garage into the home was found to
be open.
Email Alerts - Spot Crime.com
2.00 Miles around 222 Dumbarton Road – Week of Apr 14-27, 2014
Case # Crime Date Time Address
141040833 Theft - Other 4/14 1:36 pm 1xx Dumbarton Road
141070399 Destruction of Property 4/17 8:59 am 2xx Hopkins Road
141090968 Theft – Other 4/19 2:56 pm 64xx Pinehurst Road
141130408 Destruction of Property 4/23 9:13 am 73xx Yorktowne Drive
141161489 Rape Attempt 4/26 7:46 pm 2xx Gaywood Road
141171494 Identity Theft 4/27 9:03 pm 70xx Heathfield Road
