Temecula Sexual Assaults Investigation: Murrieta Man Arrested

TEMECULA, CA — A suspect wanted in connection with reported sexual assaults along the Santa Gertrudis Creek Trail in Temecula has been arrested, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department announced.

Travon Branom, 19, of Murrieta was taken into custody around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at his apartment on Agua Vista, according to jail records. He was booked on suspicion of inflicting great bodily injury, assault with great bodily injury, and attempted rape. He is being held at Southwest Detention Center on $500,000 bail.

Branom is suspected in at least two sexual assaults on the bike/jogging path that runs underneath Winchester Road.

In the first reported attack on June 14, the victim was assaulted and her cell phone stolen, the sheriff's department said.

The second attack was reported around 10:30 a.m. July 16. The female victim was hospitalized with injuries described by the sheriff's department as "minor to moderate."

The Southwest Sheriff's Station in Temecula released video surveillance footage of the suspect, in the hope someone could help identify him. He was described by investigators as a 17- to 24-year-old male with a medium complexion, medium height, thin build, and riding a beach cruiser type bicycle.

It's unclear what led investigators to Branom. According to the sheriff's department, evidence seized at his home linked him to the crimes.

Branom is due in court Friday.