MARION — A man was arrested Thursday on allegations he tried to rape a teen girl and then led police on a chase, during which he assaulted an officer and tried to steal his weapon.
The 35-year-old suspect is now facing a total of 17 charges stemming from the encounter, which ended when a police K-9 helped subdue him, according to a news release from the Marion Police Department.
Police also believe the suspect is responsible for stealing a school bus that was found near the scene of the attempted rape.
It all started about 3:46 a.m. when police received a call from someone in distress, later identified as the teen victim. When she called 911, dispatchers heard her screaming for help with a male's voice in the background.
Officers later responded to a home, at which point they saw the suspect flee. It was then one of the officers started chasing him. At one point the officer deployed a Taser but it wasn't effective.
The officer later caught up to the man, who then physically resisted and struck the officer "multiple times" in the face, according to the release.
During the struggle, the man also tried to take the officer's gun from its holster but wasn't able to.
Another responding officer and a K-9 later caught up to them and were able to apprehend the man. He was placed in handcuffs and taken to a local hospital to be checked, all the while still resisting, according to police.
An investigation found another person inside the home stopped the suspect from assaulting the girl before police arrived.
At the scene, detectives found a stolen Marion Community Schools bus and a broken-into shed belonging to a neighbor. Police believe the same suspect is responsible for both.
The bus had been stolen from a bus depot on East 30th Street.
The man was booked into Grant County Jail on the following preliminary charges, according to jail records:
- Burglary, one count
- Rape, one count
- Battery to a public safety official, one count
- Battery by bodily fluid or waste, one count
- Intimidation, three counts
- Criminal confinement, two counts
- Interference with reporting of a crime, one count
- Criminal mischief, two counts
- Striking, interfering with a law enforcement animal, one count
- Resisting law enforcement, one count
- Auto theft, one count
- Disarming a law enforcement official, one count
He's being held on $300,005 bond.
As of Friday, court records showed formal charges had not been filed against the man. WRTV does not name suspects until they are formally charged.
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