ICE: Undocumented immigrant, deported twice before, caught raping woman under stairwell
WHEATON, Md. (ABC7) — An undocumented immigrant, twice deported from the United States, had to be pried off a half-naked, semiconscious woman he was raping, Montgomery County Police allege in court documents obtained by 7 On Your Side.
Around 9:30 p.m. last Thursday, dispatchers put out a priority call for a man raping a woman below a stairwell along the 11200 block of Grandview Avenue in Downtown Wheaton. The woman could be heard shouting, "No!"
The first patrol officer to arrive on the scene stated he witnessed the man, later identified as Jose Lopez-Gonzalez, 35, raping the woman. The outdoor, metal stairwell was in plain view of the sidewalk and street and located between a dollar store and a Mexican restaurant.
"Lopez-Gonzalez was on the top of [the victim] who was naked from the waist down," police wrote in court documents filed late last week in Montgomery County District Court. "[The officer] advised that he initially yelled at Lopez-Gonzalez to get off [the victim] but that he had to physically pull him off her because he was still engaging in sexual intercourse."
Police say Lopez-Gonzalez quickly morphed from a violent criminal to a meek apologist.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," the 35-year-old man told officers as the victim laid unresponsive on the ground.
Medics transported the victim to Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville where staff performed a sexual assault examination. Blood work determined the victim had a BAC of .352, which is more than four times the legal limit for drunk driving. The blood draw took place approximately 90 minutes after police were first dispatched.
Police arrested Lopez-Gonzalez and charged him with second-degree rape and second-degree assault. During an interview at the 4th District Station in Wheaton, Lopez-Gonzalez reportedly stated he knew the victim was highly intoxicated, and in turn, figured she would not remember what had transpired.
"Lopez-Gonzalez advised that [the victim] trusted him to take care of her because she had a lot to drink at the bar," police wrote in court documents. "Lopez-Gonzalez advised that [the victim] was so intoxicated after leaving the bar that she fell down three times and he had to help her up."
Law enforcement sources tell 7 On Your Side that detectives obtained surveillance footage from the area of the metal stairwell. Police body camera video from the first-arriving officer will also likely be entered as evidence in the felony case.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lopez-Gonzalez is a Salvadoran national believed to be associated with MS-13, an international criminal street gang. Immigration records further show federal authorities deported Lopez-Gonzalez in November 2007, and then again in February 2010. It is unclear how or when he returned to the U.S.
Up until his arrest, Lopez-Gonzalez was living with his girlfriend in an apartment along the 2100 block of Randolph Road in the Glenmont section of Silver Spring. He listed "carpenter" as his occupation.
On Monday, Montgomery County District Court Judge John Moffett denied bond for Lopez-Gonzalez. He is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Clarksburg while awaiting the outcome of his criminal case, which could send him to prison for up to 30 years. ICE has lodged an immigration detainer with Montgomery County.
The alleged stairwell rape happened in the shadows of the new, 14-story, $152 million office tower that will soon house more than 900 Montgomery County employees. Officials hope the LEED Platinum-rated building will, in part, revitalize the Wheaton Central Business District.
