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SALT LAKE CITY — An Arizona man was arrested after DNA evidence connected him to two sexual assault cases, including one in Utah, officials said Wednesday.
David Louis Slade, 58, of Eagar, Arizona, was arrested on Jan. 2 for investigation of sexual assault, kidnapping, and burglary stemming from a 2003 case in the Coconino County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, according to a news release from Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock.
In 2003, an 18-year-old woman reported that a man entered her home just outside of Flagstaff and sexually assaulted her, according to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office. DNA evidence was collected but a suspect was never identified.
In July 2004, an 18-year-old woman reported a man entered her Cedar City apartment, held her against her will and sexually assaulted her, Pollock said. DNA evidence was obtained but a suspect was never identified.
The DNA profiles from the Arizona and Cedar City cases were submitted independently to databases, which found the profiles from both cases were from the same suspect, Pollock said. Nevertheless, a suspect was not identified and the cases remained unsolved.
In December, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office obtained a DNA sample from Slade and sent it to the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, Pollock said. The sample from Slade was confirmed to match the DNA sample in both the 2003 Arizona and 2004 Cedar City sexual assault cases.
“Cedar City Police Detectives have started the process to submit for charges through the Iron County Attorney’s Office,” Pollock said.
Slade is currently being held at the Coconino County Jail.
