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Thursday, March 28, 2024

DNA evidence leads to rape suspect’s arrest

A Gainesville man was arrested Wednesday after police used DNA evidence to link him to a Feb. 23 attempted rape at The Enclave Apartments.

Gainesville Police charged Roderick Kantrel Pittman, 28, of 2725 SW 27th Ave., with armed robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and sexual assault, according to a GPD arrest report.

The report provided additional details from when the crime was originally reported Feb. 25.

The incident started just after 3 a.m. Feb. 23 when a woman was walking down the second floor stairwell of Building D of the apartment complex, located at 3000 SW 35th Place, according to the report.

Pittman grabbed the woman’s shoulder, spun her around and held a knife up to her throat. He demanded her keys, water bottle and cellphone, according to the report.

He then told the woman to bend over with her hands on the stairwell. While she was bent over, Pittman started to lift up her skirt, according to the report.

The woman fought back and ran from Pittman toward the parking lot. A friend, who was waiting in a car, heard a scream and ran to the stairwell. When she found Pittman and the woman, Pittman pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the friend.

Both women ran from Pittman to the car, called Gainesville Police and drove to Shands at UF. GPD officers arrived at the complex and found Pittman coming out of the Building D stairwell, according to the report. He tried to run, but officers caught him.

During a search, police found two condoms and a bloody knife in Pittman’s pocket. When Pittman couldn’t explain why he was at the complex, officers arrested him on loitering and prowling charges, according to the report.

During a lineup, the woman and her friend couldn’t identify Pittman as the man who committed the attack.

On Wednesday, however, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported a match between the blood on Pittman’s knife and a DNA sample from the woman, said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.

Later that afternoon, GPD detectives waited for Pittman on a parking lot at the Ridgemar Commons Apartments, located in the 3600 block of Southwest 34th Street, Tobias said.

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When Pittman walked out to his car, he was arrested.

Tobias said Gainesville Police is still looking for the handgun used in the attack.

Pittman was booked into the Alachua County Jail at about 9 p.m. Wednesday, where he remained Sunday night with a $300,000 bond.

Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.

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