Police Arrest Man, May Charge Him for String of Bike Trail Attacks

Arlington police have arrested a 19-year-old suspected of sexually assaulting a woman who was walking home last summer -- and authorities think he may have been behind a series of attacks along county bike trails as well.

Police have arrested Santos Efrain Vasquez-Lopez of Arlington on charges of abduction with the intent to defile, and he is being held without bond, according to a police report. Police say he attacked a 25-year-old woman Aug. 1 in the 4300 block of N. Pershing Drive at around 11:30 p.m., holding her down and covering her mouth while “attempt[ing] to remove her shorts.”

“The victim was able to bite one of the suspect’s hands before he fled the area on foot,” the police report states.

Investigators were able to get a DNA analysis from the state lab that enabled them to tie Vasquez-Lopez to the attack, resulting in his arrest at his home on Feb. 24, according to the report.

With Vasquez-Lopez in custody, Arlington County police are now trying to see if he is behind a series of attacks along county bike trails last summer, so more charges could be coming. Police have asked anyone with information to call Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477) to make an anonymous tip.