Palo Alto Police Make Arrest In Sexual Assault Of Teen Jogger

PALO ALTO, CA — Palo Alto police announced an arrest over the weekend in connection with the March 28 sexual assault of a teen-aged jogger that prompted an hours-long manhunt in the city. Eduardo Antonio Chavarria-Diaz, 29, of Richmond, was taken into custody at about 11 a.m. Sunday and booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and sexual penetration by force in the incident that happened on a greenbelt just off a bicycle-pedestrian path near the intersection of Arastradero Road and Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto police said.

"The suspect emerged from the greenbelt and pulled the victim off of the path, placed a gun to her head, and sexually assaulted her," Palo Alto police said the day of the incident. "The suspect fled the scene on foot, and the victim flagged down a passerby to call for help."

As the victim was taken by Palo Alto Fire Department medics to a local hospital for treatment, law enforcement personnel from neighboring agencies responded to Palo Alto to assist in the search for the suspect. However, the manhunt was called off after a few hours when police determined the suspect had likely left the area.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Search Called Off In Palo Alto For Sexual Assault Suspect

Sunday, with a warrant in hand, Palo Alto police detectives and investigators from the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department arrested Chavarria-Diaz at a residence in the 100 block of South 9th Street in Richmond, according to a Palo Alto Police Department news release.

Detectives have information that also allegedly links Chavarria-Diaz to a similar assault March 4 in Oakland in the jurisdiction of the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department, police said.

"Additional charges for the crime in Oakland may be forthcoming," Palo Alto police stated in the news release. "Our detectives are continuing to investigate to determine if the suspect may be responsible for any other unsolved crimes."

Anyone with further information regarding the investigation is asked to call Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through PAPD's mobile app available in the App Store or Google Play.

Photo via Palo Alto Police Department