A man already serving time in prison for a conviction of assault with intent to commit rape in Walnut Creek in 2012 will be charged with another sexual assault in 2010, Walnut Creek police say, the result of a DNA test.
Francisco Hernandez-Murrieta was convicted in January of an attempted rape of a Walnut Creek woman walking on the Iron Horse Trail near downtown in June of 2012. The woman was able to fend off Hernandez-Murrieta and alert police, who arrested him a short time later. He was convicted of the crime and is presently serving a two-year sentence in San Quentin.
Shortly after his conviction, police took a swab of Hernandez-Murrieta DNA and, as a result of that, linked him to an unsolved 2010 sexual assault case from August of 2010, when a woman was assaulted in her car not far from the 2012 attack.
As a result, the District Attorney's Office yesterday announced its intent to file Assault to Commit Rape against Hernandez-Murrieta, with an additional charge of being armed during that assault.
The charges come the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of permitting police to take DNA swabs of people arrested for serious crimes.
"This case illustrates the value of this crime-fighting tool," said acting police chief Steve Skinner.
Anyone with information on this case should call the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 943-5844.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
