MIAMI (WSVN) - Police have arrested a man accused of raping a woman at her apartment in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood.
Jose Angel Manzo, 29, faces several charges that include sexual battery, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. He made an appearance in court, Wednesday.
According to City of Miami Police, the suspect forced his way inside the victim’s unit in the area of Southwest 13th Avenue and Eighth Street, July 24.
“He started hitting the victim,” a prosecutor said in court. “At that point, he also grabbed her hair, pulled her into the bedroom. When in the bedroom, he had the victim undressed. He undressed himself. He forced her onto the bed.”
Detectives said he sexually assaulted the woman repeatedly before he fled the home.
Police said they arrested Manzo after a rape kit positively identified him.
Investigators said Manzo was in their system because he had been behind bars before.
“We found our guy,” City of Miami Police spokesperson Kenia Fallat said. “Because of the DNA from that prior case, in our case, it was a hit, and we already knew it was him.”
Meanwhile, police in the same area are searching for a man behind another sexual assault.
The man was caught on surveillance video outside of a home in the area.
“It’s believed that he is involved in a case where he assaulted a woman,” City of Miami Police spokesperson Kiera Delva said.
The unsettling sex crimes have left neighbors in the area feeling stunned.
“You wouldn’t have thought that you would hear something like that is going on here in this area,” a resident said. “To me, it’s almost … it angers me.”
The man seen in the surveillance video remains on the run.
Manzo was also given a stay-away order from the victim.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.