Gainesville Police is investigating a Saturday morning armed robbery and attempted rape at a southwest Gainesville apartment complex.
At about 3 a.m. Saturday, a woman was walking down the second-floor stairwell of Building D of The Enclave Apartments complex, located at 3000 SW 35th Place, when a man wearing black clothing approached her with a knife, said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
The man first asked for the woman’s wallet and keys and then attacked her, forcing her to bend over and put her hands on the stairs, Tobias said.
The woman pushed the man and tried to run away. In the process, her tooth was knocked out, Tobias said.
The woman’s friend heard her scream and ran back to the stairwell, Tobias said.
The man then pulled out a silver handgun and pointed it at the friend.
Both women ran away to a car, where another friend was waiting for them and drove them to Shands at UF, Tobias said.
When GPD arrived at the complex, an officer found Roderick Kantrel Pittman, 28, of 2427 NW 147th St., outside Building D, Tobias said.
Pittman told the officer that he walked to the apartment complex from the Ridgemar Commons Apartments, located in the 3600 block of Southwest 34th Street, to meet with a girl in Building C, Tobias said.
The officer noticed that Pittman had a cut on his arm. Pittman said he got the cut from jumping over a fence.
The officer searched Pittman and found two condoms and a knife, Tobias said. The officer didn’t find a gun on him.
Police then arrested Pittman on a loitering and prowling charge.
Later, during a lineup, the victim and her friends couldn’t identify Pittman as the man they saw Saturday morning.
Police booked Pittman into the Alachua County Jail just after 6 a.m. Saturday. He was released at about 1 p.m. after he met bond.
Tobias said GPD is now turning to the public for help in the case.
After an interview with the victim and her friends, Tobias said there may be more possible witnesses to the crime, including two college-aged men in the parking lot and one white man who may had seen the crime from the second floor.
If you have information about this investigation, contact GPD detective Chris King at 352-393-7660. You can also submit an anonymous tip by texting “GPDFL” plus your tip to 274637.
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.
