Police in Baltimore say an unusual find at an encampment in a city park led them to man accused of kidnapping and assaulting a 71-year-old woman earlier this month. The woman said the man started talking to her on a trail on Nov. 7 and the encounter quickly became threatening, NBC News reports. She said that after brandishing a handgun, the man punched her and choked her until she lost consciousness. She said she woke up tied to a chair in an encampment, where the man kissed her, touched her, and choked her again. She said she managed to escape and get help after she told the man her glasses had fallen off and he agreed to go look for them.
Police obtained a search warrant for the encampment, the Baltimore Banner reports. According to charging documents, they found items including a bloodstained rope, a chainsaw, and the vital clue—packets of rubber bands used for braces. Police said they contacted the manufacturer and determined a single dental office in Maryland used them. Staff members at the office recognized an artist's rendering of the suspect and Charles Avon Taylor, 46, was arrested on Nov 22.
Taylor is being held without bond on charges including kidnapping, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and fourth-degree sex offense, the Banner reports. According to court records, Avon received a 30-year sentence for first-degree rape in 2000, half of which was suspended. He also received a 15-year-sentence for third-degree sex offense and first-degree assault in 2001. (More Maryland stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
