Suspect Sought After Women Seeking Marijuana Are Instead Sexually Assaulted In South Austin

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — Police continue to search for a suspect in a case involving the sexual assault of two women by a group of men in what began as a drug deal, according to a published report.

According to reports, including one account in the Austin American-Statesman, a woman arrived at a South Austin apartment along the 2100 block of Burton Drive to buy marijuana. Instead, the woman was bound and allegedly raped by two men. Her phone was taken from her and used by one of the suspects to lure her female friend, who also was sexually assaulted after having been waiting outside in the car.

Afterwards, the second victim’s cellphone was used to lure three friends via text, all women also in the car outside before being lured into the apartment, according to the report. The women were questioned at gunpoint for information about other drug dealers, according to an arrest affidavit referenced by the Statesman. The women told police the men threatened to kill all of them at some point during the ordeal.

The first victim later told police she had met Emmanuel Grear, 20, Christopher Jaramillo, 19, Demetri Rogers, 23, and another man to buy pot. She had originally met Grear several days earlier at a gas station and expressed her desire for drugs, and the two exchanged telephone numbers, according to reports.

Upon her arrival to the apartment, however, she was hele at gunpoint and bound with a zip tie before allegedly being sexually assaulted by Grear and Jaramillo, according to the arrest affidavit. Rogers is said to have driven the woman to her nearby motel room to scour through her belongings in search for money, during which time she was able to escape, according to the report.

Austin police subsequently found three of the men in a home along the 10600 block of McMillan Drive in the Rundberg area, where Jaramillo and Rogers were arrested. Another man was also detained but later released, the report indicates.

A search for Grear continues, while Jaramillo and Rogers are being detained at the Travis County Jail. The former was charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and driving under the influence while the latter was charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Bail for Jaramillo was set at $225,000 while Rogers' bail was set at $150,000.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

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