CASSELBERRY, Fla. – Authorities are actively looking for a man who they say raped a woman during an armed home invasion at an apartment complex and then kidnapped and carjacked her and another person Saturday evening, according to the Casselberry Police Department.
Chief Larry Krantz said a man was seen lurking around Stonecastle Apartments at about 8 p.m. and appeared to be watching two 24-year-old women as they unloaded items from a vehicle. Once the women were inside their apartment, the man, armed with a knife, knocked on their door and then forced his way inside, according to authorities.
During about a 10-minute period, the man raped one of the women inside the apartment, police said. She was trying to run into one of the bedrooms and get away from him, police said in a report.
He then forced them both into the victim's silver 2006 Toyota Matrix and made one of them drive to the Publix store in Maitland, on North Orlando Avenue, to withdraw cash from an ATM.
The man ordered one of the women inside while the other stayed with him outside the vehicle, Krantz said. The victim who went inside the store told an employee to call police.
Krantz said the man got suspicious about why she was taking so long, and fled in the car before authorities could arrive. Neither the man nor the victim's vehicle has been located.
“Well, he’s clearly dangerous. He’s committed an armed home invasion. He saw two young ladies that he thought he could victimize and prey upon and knocked on their door, and as soon as it was open forced his way in at knifepoint. He is dangerous. We need to locate him and put him in jail,” Krantz said.
This morning, a neighborhood is on high alert after @Casselberry_PD say a man terrorizes and kidnaps two women. The message from police on #News6 at 6am. https://t.co/oT7f7DivNj pic.twitter.com/1cd8h4pSA7
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) July 3, 2018
The man was described as being between 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with light-colored, curly, shoulder-length hair with some facial hair and an average build. He was wearing a blue baseball hat, a blue long-sleeved shirt and green shorts. His appearance was unkempt and he had no shoes on, which police said could mean that he is homeless.
Police said the stolen vehicle has a University of South Florida parking decal near the dashboard and a Savage Race sticker on the third window on the passenger side. The license plate number is Y92MAP.
The victims are working with authorities to develop a composite sketch of the man. Police are asking that anyone may have witnessed the incident or any business in the area that might have come in contact with the man to let them know immediately.
“This is very uncommon here in our community. We’re very concerned about it. We want to capture this individual,” Krantz said.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Casselberry Police Department at 800-423-TIPS (8477).