| Scenario |
Within a two week period, a rapist attacks two women
in Pensacola, Florida. During the investigation, detectives discover
that
both cases have similar characteristics. Both victims were women in
their 50s, living alone in ground floor apartments in adult-only complexes.
In both attacks, the perpetrator broke into the victims’ apartments
through a window shortly before dawn on a Sunday and took the victims’ drivers
licenses when he left.
One week later, police in Mobile, Alabama submit
an incident report with similar characteristics, resulting in an
N DEx alert to the Pensacola
Police Department. In this case, a witness saw a man in his 60s looking
through a window of the victim’s apartment the night before.
The Pensacola investigator calls the Mobile PD to let them know of
the similarity
in cases, leading her to conclude that a serial rapist is involved.
Using N DEx, the Pensacola investigator sends out a bulletin to all
police
agencies in the Florida Panhandle and Southern Alabama about the
related cases and authorities increase patrol vigilance during early
morning
hours. Among the cities that received the bulletin was Fort Walton
Beach, Florida, about 40 miles east of Pensacola.
The next Saturday
morning, patrol officers in Fort Walton Beach observe a male in
his 60s looking into the window of an apartment building.
Officers apprehend the man who has glass cutters in his pocket
and the driver’s
licenses of his past victims in his vehicle. Police in Fort Walton
Beach submit his fingerprints to IAFIS and discover he is wanted
for multiple
rapes in other jurisdictions. During questioning, the man confesses
to all three crimes.
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