Man Sexually Assaulted Woman Behind Horse Stables: Cops

ALPHARETTA, GA — A man who was arrested earlier this year on kidnapping charges in Cobb County is now accused of sexually assaulting a woman behind the horse stables at Wills Park Equestrian Center in Alpharetta. Police have charged Danzell Mitchell, 26, with aggravated assault, kidnapping and sexual battery in connection to the attack on a pregnant woman last year.

Officers were dispatched to a call on May 16, 2017, of an assault on a 23-year-old woman at the equestrian center at 11925 Wills Road. The woman, who was pregnant at the time, said she was pushing her baby in a stroller on the gravel path when she was "grabbed from behind, a knife was put against her stomach, and she was ordered to leave her child behind while she was forced behind a horse stable where the sexual assault took place."

Alpharetta police say the woman fought back and while she escaped her attacker's grip, he pepper-sprayed her in the face and cut her arm with the knife he had. She was able to break free and scream for help as the suspect fled the area.

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Officers, including a K-9 team, descended on to the area to search for the suspect, who was described as a black man with short hair and a five o'clock shadow. He stood about 5'10'' tall and was wearing a dark mechanic-type shirt. After searching the area and sending be-on-the-lookout alerts to nearby police departments and sheriff's offices, Alpharetta police called off the search and the suspect was never located. The case remained active, as investigators continued to follow-up on leads provided by the victim and residents in the community.

Nearly a year later on May 11, officers received a tip that propelled them to re-open the case. After following up that information, Alpharetta police investigators secured arrest warrants for Mitchell, who remains held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center on the kidnapping charges.

Mitchell was arrested in May by Cobb police and charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, cruelty to children in the first degree and aggravated assault, those jail records show. Once the case in Cobb clears, he will be transferred to the Fulton County Jail to face the charges in Alpharetta.

Photo: Danzell Mitchell. Credit: Cobb County Jail