University Place Man Arrested For 2013 Sex Assault In California

BENICIA, CA — The Benicia Police Department can now close its books on a nearly 5-year-old cold case. That's because on Wednesday, detectives flew to Washington state – arrest warrant in hand – to take into custody the man whose DNA linked him to the sexual assault of a 64-year-old Benicia woman, police officials said.

It was Halloween 2013, according to Benicia police, when an unknown assailant forced his way into the victim's home and sexually assaulted her. The victim fought back and consequently, the suspect left behind some critical evidence: blood.

"This month, we received the DNA identity of 34-year-old Alexander Haynes after he had been arrested in the city of University Place in the state of Washington for burglary where his DNA was entered into the system. Haynes had been a resident in Benicia at the time of the attack," Benicia police said Thursday afternoon in a statement posted to Facebook.

After securing a $250,000 arrest warrant and extradition orders for Haynes, detectives on Wednesday flew to Washington. There, they were greeted by detectives and officers from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department and the University Place Police Department.

"During the evening hours of Wednesday, Haynes was taken into custody without incident and booked into Pierce County Jail while he awaits extradition back to California to face charges," BPD said in its statement.

"We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to both officers and detectives from University Place Police Department and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in apprehending a dangerous suspect," BPD continued. "We are also very proud of our detectives who worked tirelessly on this case."

This story was written by Patch reporter Maggie Avants

Photo via Benicia Police Department