Suspect in assault of woman walking dog had history of lewdness charges

The 18-year-old accused of sexually assaulting a woman out walking her dog earlier this month had faced lewdness charges as a minor, according to his arrest report.

Laparese Jones is accused of sexually assaulting the woman around 7 a.m. March 8 in her apartment complex on the 2000 block of North Torrey Pines Drive, according to the Metropolitan Police Department report.

The woman told police that after greeting Jones as she walked by, she realized he was following her. Moments later, she was on her back and his hand was around her neck as he sexually assaulted her, according to Jones’ arrest report.

She told police that she tore off her attacker’s face mask, ripped off his glasses and hit his face with them during the assault. He ran off, and she was able to give a detailed description of his features to police.

In a news conference last week, Metro sex crimes Lt. Richard Meyers said investigators knocked on more than 1,000 doors in the area in a dayslong attempt to identify the woman’s attacker. The department received many tips from the public, but none led to Jones’ arrest.

According to the report, police were called to a domestic disturbance March 14 at a group home for juveniles on probation when Jones “threatened to shoot up” the home after he missed curfew and was not allowed in, the manager reported to police.

Jones matched the description of the woman’s attacker, according to the report. When police went to arrest Jones two days later, the manager showed officers video of Jones burning clothes, investigators wrote.

As they investigated, detectives discovered that Jones had been accused of inappropriately touching a female student in May 2017, when he was a minor. He was arrested by a Clark County School District police officer at the time, who noted in a record referenced in Jones’ arrest report that it was Jones’ third offense in 30 days.

“Jones also said he had a problem with touching females inappropriately and he was going to get help,” police wrote in his arrest report, referencing the record.

In an interview with police last week, Jones told investigators that he was “in a foul mood and wanted to beat someone up” when he saw the woman walking by, whom he described as “small,” along with her “small” dog, according to the report.

He said he put her in a chokehold and later burned the pants he wore during the attack, police wrote.

In a letter that police asked him to write to the victim, Jones wrote, “I did not mean for you to feel sexually assaulted when I was beating you up,” according to the report.

Jones was charged with sexual assault, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, battery by strangulation to commit sexual assault and destroying or concealing evidence, court records show.

He is being held on $25,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing April 27.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.