CLAYTON, Mo. — A suspect in an assault and kidnapping case has been taken into custody after the Clayton Police Department requested the public's help Thursday in finding him.
Police identified 25-year-old Jose Gomez-Velasquez as the suspect in an investigation into the physical and sexual assault of a woman on Aug. 30. In a Thursday evening update, police said he had been taken into custody.
Gomez-Velasquez was wanted on several charges, including one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse, along with two counts of third-degree assault.
According to charging documents, the woman he assaulted has a disability and is not capable of consent.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office issued an at-large warrant for Gomez-Velasquez along with the charges. Clayton police announced the charges in a Thursday news release.
Clayton police said a woman reported she had been sexually assaulted while walking in a Richmond Heights neighborhood when the suspect took her against her will to a gas station nearby.
The victim said at the gas station, the suspect led her to a secluded area within Oak Knoll Park, where he overpowered her through force and intimidation and physically and sexually assaulted her.
According to a criminal complaint, Gomez-Velasquez punched and bit the victim during the assault and told her he'd kill her if she screamed. He then used both of his hands to strangle her, the complaint said.
The victim told police the suspect then abandoned her in the park.
The victim reported the assault as a patient in a local hospital, police said.
Prior to Gomez-Velasquez being taken into custody, Clayton police provided photos of him and a description.
Clayton police and the Richmond Heights Police Department have increased patrols in Oak Knoll Park and other neighborhoods in the area following the incident.
Clayton police are actively investigating the incident.