APD investigating if 2 violent crimes are connected
AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - It was a quiet Friday morning at Davis-White Park in northeast Austin.
Maria and Miguel Cavazos were among the few taking a stroll on the hiking trail.
"I try to stay with the girls that walk here in the morning, there are a lot of young ladies that walk, and I always stay with them, or try to walk when there are people around here,” said Maria Cavazos.
Reports of criminal activity in the area have them feeling uneasy.
"I've never seen anything, thank goodness, but I've heard of it,” said Cavazos.
An arrest in a recent case was announced Thursday by Austin police. On December 21st, at Davis-White Park, a woman was attacked and raped. Investigators say she was held at knife point and forced to go into this restroom where she later called police. "This is not a common type of sexual assault, this was absolutely a very violent sexual assault,” said APD Detective Evonne McGuire.
Police arrested 58-year-old David Green and 18-year-old Kyle Kenoski.
FOX 7 Austin News was told by investigators that the two men were located by members of the Lone Star Task Force in a wooded area across from Davis-White Park.
Detectives classified the two as transients.
Walnut Creek runs along the park. A flood wall is marked with graffiti and the area is also known to have camps where transients live. The park and neighborhood is in the 78724 zip code.
Crime reports for the past year in the 78724 zip code show a wide range of incidents reported to police.
Over the past 12 months’ major crimes included:
- 111 assaults.
- 202 robberies & burglaries
- 3 cases of arson
- 87 trespassing cases
- 3 sex crimes
- 2 murders
One of the murders was the last homicide of 2018. The nude and battered body of Nicole Diane Coleman was found New Year’s Eve. She was located less than a mile from the scene of the rape at Davis White Park.
Friday, investigators confirmed they're trying to determine if the two cases are connected.
"Right now it’s just proximity, but we've obviously collected a lot of evidence, and DNA is going to play a major part in this, so we've sent DNA off, and will see what happens when it comes back,” said Sgt. Tracy Gerrish with the APD Homicide Unit.
The investigations are troubling for Egla Juarez who lives a few blocks from the park. "We've installed various lights around the house,” said Juarez who add the trouble will not run them out of the neighborhood.
Juarez went on to say she understands police officers cannot be everywhere but she'd like to see more patrols in the neighborhood. "Yes this woman, probably that suffered the attack, she was probably saying where’s the police why don’t they pass by."
David Green is being held on a $400,000 bond.
18-year-old Kyle Kenoski is being held on $200,000 bond.
If the two are charged with any additional crime the D.A. could file a request to increase their bond.
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