Suspect Arrested In Milpitas Hotel Sexual Assaults
MILPITAS (CBS SF) -- A Fremont man has been arrested to two violent armed sexual assaults at Milpitas area hotels, authorities announced Wednesday.
Milpitas police said 26-year-old Shandon Travalis Lawson has been booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for rape, oral copulation, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, strangulation, criminal threats, false imprisonment, assault with the intent to commit a felony, and possession of a controlled substance.
Investigators said the first assault took place at the Baymont Inn and Suites, located at 66 South Main Street on Sept. 26th. The 21-year-old victim of the assault told officers that she had been forced to engage in sexual acts with a man wielding a knife.
The man also stole cash from the victim and tied her up before fleeing from the area.
She described her attacker as an African-American male, 20-30 years of age, 5'-06" to 5'-08" tall, 135 to 145 pounds wearing a yellow reflective safety vest.
On Oct. 2, police were called to the Brookside Inn, located at 400 Valley Way. The 19-year-old victim said an African-American male, wearing a green construction safety vest, had brandished a knife and assaulted her.
Investigators said the victim managed to escape by jumping out of a second floor window and immediately called 9-1-1.
Within minutes, Milpitas Police officers located Lawson -- who matched the suspect description -- in the parking-lot of the Brookside Inn.
If you have any information regarding this investigation or have had contact with Shandon Travalis Lawson, please call the Milpitas Police Department at (408) 586-2400. Information can be given anonymously by calling the Crime Tip Hotline at (408) 586-2500 or via the Milpitas Police Department website at:
http://www.ci.milpitas.ca.gov/crimetip
