El Cerrito Suspect Arrested In Sexual Assault Case 12 Years Later
EL CERRITO (CBS SF) -- El Cerrito police have arrested a suspect 12 years after a violent sexual assault during a home invasion robbery, police announced Wednesday.
Investigators said they were able to solve the crime in part due to advances in forensic science, finally identifying 33-year-old Keith Asberry of Richmond as a suspect using a new DNA test.
Asberry was already in custody in Alameda County for separate sexual assault charges. He is being held in Santa Rita Jail without bail.
According to El Cerrito police, Asberry knocked on the door of a home in the 1400 block of Liberty Street shared by two roommates at about 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2005, shortly after the women had returned home.
When one of the residents opened the door, Asberry, wearing a mask and dark clothing, threatened her with a gun and forced his way inside, police said.
He demanded their money and jewelry and walked them to different rooms of the house, taking one of the roommates to a bathroom and forcing her to lie on the floor and then taking the other 20-year-old roommate to her bedroom. He also forced her to lie on the floor, where he sexually assaulted her, police said.
After that, he took one of their car keys. He tried to force them to come with him, but when they refused, he took the car and fled.
At the time, police were looking into the possibility that the suspect had stalked the women earlier in the evening, watching them walk into the apartment. They had only lived there for about two weeks at the time.
"This sexual assault case was one that weighed heavily on many officers who were working here when it happened," police officials wrote in a statement. "This violent home invasion sexual assault was investigated fully in 2005 but remained unsolved."
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