Charleston police arrested a man in connection with three separate instances of assault against women walking near the Battery downtown the morning of March 31.
Willie Sturges, 31, of North Charleston, was arrested just after 11 a.m. on three counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree assault and battery after three complainants came forward and said a man attempted to abduct them, according to a news release.
The crime spree started around midnight March 31, said one victim. She’d been walking her dog near Church and South Battery streets when a suspect grabbed her from behind and wrestled her to the ground, she told officers. She’d managed to break free and escape.
Then, around 7:30 a.m. that morning, a jogger experienced a similar assault near Zig Zag Alley and Atlantic Street. She too had been grabbed from behind. The woman told police the suspect attempted to pull her elsewhere but ran away once she began screaming for help.
Moments later, Charleston police got another call for service near Meeting and South Battery streets. Upon arrival, a man told officers that an unknown suspect had grabbed and pulled at his wife before running away.
An investigation revealed Sturges as the suspect. Details on what led police to Sturges was not immediately available.
Sturges has a criminal history in Charleston County dating to June 2012, according to a rap sheet provided by the State Law Enforcement Division. The majority of his charges are drug-related with one conviction resulting in a short, 50-plus day stint in jail in 2018.
Detectives with the Charleston Police Department are asking residents who live near the Battery to check exterior security camera footage from the last 24 hours to see if Sturges may have been in the area. He had been wearing a black sweatshirt and bright red pants during each assault, police said.
Anyone who may have interacted with Sturges or seen him is advised to contact detectives at 843-720-2422 or submit a tip via charleston-sc.gov/tips.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
