FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) Fayetteville police are investigating a series of sexual assaults that may be connected.
The most recent incident happened during the early morning hours Friday at the Briarwood Apartments off Owen Drive. A woman told authorities that a man broke into her bedroom while she was asleep, sexually assaulted her then ran away on foot.
The victim described the intruder as a Black man between 5-feet-5 and 5-feet-6 inches tall, between the ages of 20 and 25 years old with a thin build and a thin mustache. She said he was wearing a dark-color jacket and dark pants with red shorts underneath with colorful shoes.
A 31-year-old man was killed Friday when his car hit a utility pole after it collided with a sport utility vehicle, officials said.
Mario O. Baldwin of the 500 block of Prestige Boulevard was killed in the crash, according to a statement released by the Fayetteville Police Department. He was driving a 2012 Mercedes C300 at the time of the crash, it said.
Police officers were called to the intersection of Raeford Road and Ireland Drive just after 8:50 p.m. because of a reported traffic collision, the statement said.
Baldwin’s car collided with a 2013 Ford Explorer, which was driven by Roy L. Perry, 60, of the 1700 block of Martindale Drive, according to the statement.
Fayetteville police are asking the public to be on the lookout for a suspect, after “a recent trend in assaults against females,” authorities said in a news release.
Police responded to two separate reports of an unknown male assaulting two separate women on Feb. 13 and Feb. 18 in the 3000 block of Stone Carriage Circle at the Stone Ridge Apartment complex in the Arran Lakes neighborhood.
The suspect was observed walking in the area before the assaults, police said.
The suspect is described as a man in his mid to late 20s, between 5 feet 6 inches tall and 5 feet 8 inches tall, who was last seen wearing a dark hoodie, pants and a surgical-style mask.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash and the events leading up to it.
Part of Bragg Boulevard was initially closed after the crash and later reopened.
Anyone who has information about the crash is asked to call Officer C. Biggerstaff with the Fayetteville Police Department Traffic Unit at 910-751-1382 or Cumberland County Crimestoppers at 910-483-TIPS (8477).
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Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.
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