A DNA sample led Fort Smith Police to a suspect in 2002 rape case.
Leroy Eugene King, 43, of Pocola, was arrested Friday (Jan. 18) for allegedly raping a woman.
An arrest warrant carrying a $50,000 bond was obtained and executed during a traffic stop near the intersection of Lexington and south G Street, a police report states. King was taken into custody and booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center.
The alleged rape occurred on Aug. 24, 2002. The victim, who was 31 at the time, told police she was walking down Rogers Avenue when a man stopped to offer her a ride. He took her to an unfamiliar location where she was beaten and raped, according to a police report.
Police collected DNA evidence and it was entered into a database, but no match was found.
It wasn’t until October 2012 that detectives developed a new lead.
In March of 2012, King was investigated and arrested on charges of kidnapping and domestic violence in LeFlore County, Sgt. Daniel Grubbs with the Fort Smith Police Department said. At that time, a DNA sample was taken from King and submitted into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Seven months later, Fort Smith Police were notified of a match that linked King’s DNA to that of the suspect in the 2002 rape.
