Another woman reports contact with Cape chase suspect

Cape Girardeau police may soon be investigating a fourth incident involving an assault suspect who shot himself following a police pursuit last week.

A 38-year-old Cape Girardeau woman said she has already contacted police twice in an attempt to report a March 3 incident where she was allegedly approached by a man matching the suspect's description in the parking lot of the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Southeast Missourian on Monday she had been advised by other officers over the phone to directly contact the detective in charge of investigating other possible related incidents.

Police said last week that they were looking into whether the suspect is the same person who allegedly approached women in public places and made lewd comments or attempted assault in two separate incidents. Those incidents reportedly happened before an armed assault on the Cape LaCroix recreational walking trail on the afternoon of March 4.

The woman who was approached by the man at the library said Monday she was planning to contact the detective in charge of the case. Police spokesman Darin Hickey said Monday afternoon he was not sure the report had yet been made to the detective.

The woman alleges the suspect made contact with her around noon March 3 in the library parking lot when she parked her vehicle next to his black Mazda pickup truck.

"He was sitting there with the window down, and I didn't think anything of it because it was a day with really nice weather," she said.

When she exited her vehicle, the man said hello to her as she passed, she said. She said she didn't think it odd at the time that the man had his truck backed into the space, but she did notice it. The woman and her friend, who drove separately, went inside the library and spent over an hour.

When they exited, they were carrying some supplies. The man offered to help carry some items, she said. The two women agreed, and the man helped them place the items in the trunk of the friend's car, which was parked at the other side of the lot. They thanked the man, talked briefly and each went to their vehicle. By the time the woman arrived back at her vehicle next to the man's truck, he was already back inside, she said. Then, with her friend out of earshot, the man asked if "there were anything else he could do" for her and made a lewd suggestion, she said.

The comment was identical to one police reported the man said to another woman the next afternoon as she sat in her truck in a lot adjacent to the walking trail. That incident was around a half-hour before the suspect allegedly followed another woman from a different parking lot and forced her into the woods at gunpoint, according to police.

In that incident, a passer-by heard screams and entered the woods, at which time the suspect ran off, as reported to police by the woman who was allegedly assaulted. Descriptions of the suspect, of a bald man in his late 40s or early 50s, and of his vehicle, a black Mazda pickup truck with Illinois plates, were also given to police. He tried to flee from police when located the afternoon of March 6 in the parking lot of the Boulevard Apartments at 45 S. West End Blvd.

The chase ended when the suspect's tires went flat in the parking lot of Dan's Key and Lock Shop on Independence Street. The suspect exited his truck in the parking lot and pointed a gun at an officer in the patrol car behind him, at which time the officer knocked down the suspect with his car. Police say the man fell to the ground and turned the gun on himself.

The woman in the March 3 library incident said after the man made the comment, she quickly got into her car and picked up her phone. She said the man then drove out of the lot and traveled south on Clark Avenue. She did not attempt to contact police until after she saw news of the police pursuit the following Tuesday.

"I'm not sure why he didn't pull a gun on me," the woman said. Looking back, she said, she recognizes there were signs something wasn't right, including that the man remained in his truck for so long, appeared to be watching people and had his truck backed into the space. She and her friend talked briefly about how the man never went into the library when they were still in the lot, she said, and she felt cautious as she returned to her vehicle alone.

Became 'creepier'

As for not immediately reporting the incident to police, the woman said she didn't take the man's comment seriously until after she learned of the outcome of the police pursuit and realized the same person could be responsible for her encounter.

"I kind of blew it off. I thought, it's just a guy being a guy. Guys say weird things sometimes. And he had seemed perfectly nice. But the more I thought about it, the creepier it seemed," she said.

Hickey said if people aren't sure if someone has committed an offense against them, they should always contact police immediately to find out.

"Trust your instincts," he said. "If you feel in any way that you have been a victim, let us know."

Authorities have yet to charge the suspect with any crimes and said last week there is no hurry since he is incapacitated. He remains in the hospital in critical condition. Police are not identifying the man pending the filing of charges.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

711 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO