Mark Anthony Gonzales.Photo:Douglas County Sheriffâs Office
Douglas County Sheriffâs Office
A man accused of breaking into a condo-style resort near Lake Tahoe and fondling sleeping women’s feet in the middle of the night has been arrested, authorities said.
The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Mark Anthony Gonzales, who was taken into custody at his home in Atwater, Calif., on Aug. 1, according to apress releasefrom the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged incidents took place over the Fourth of July weekend at the resort condominiums in Stateline, Nev., authorities said.
“Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females. Each female awoke from their sleep as the subject was rubbing their feet. Once awake the females confronted the male subject and he fled the scene," the statement continued.
The two women’s rooms were on the ground floor, according to anearlier news releasefrom the DCSO, and at the time, authorities advised the public to secure their exterior doors.
The sheriff’s office said they were eventually able to identify Gonzales through “forensic techniques.”
Gonzales was booked into the Merced County Jail on two counts of burglary and two counts of battery. He will be held on a fugitive warrant with $50,000 bail until he is extradited back to Douglas County, Nev.
It’s unclear if Gonzales has entered a plea or retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
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“I am extremely pleased that my Investigators were able to identify, locate, and arrest this individual,” Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley said in the release. “These types of crimes are especially alarming to a community, and being able to make an arrest allows the victims and community to feel safe again.”
Investigators with the DSCO said Gonzales was known to local authorities in the Merced County area and was the suspect of numerous crimes, including “the theft of women’s shoes, trespassing, and sexual self-gratification during some of these incidents.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
