An intense pursuit in Ann Arbor ended with a suspect wanted for sexual assault shivering in a pond as police hauled him out. Miguel Angel Aparicio-Navas, 36, faced escape through water only to succumb to the biting cold before being arrested Tuesday night.
Responding to reports of a man tampering with cars, the scene unfolded around 9:30 p.m. on March 19, when Ann Arbor police discovered Aparicio-Navas on the 3600 block of Partridge Path. According to a CBS Detroit report, Aparicio-Navas bolted towards a pond and started swimming as officers approached, ignoring their calls to return to land while "shivering uncontrollably."
Charges against Aparicio-Navas include assault with intent to commit sexual penetration and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, dating back to an incident from September 2023. A 27-year-old woman alleged Aparicio-Navas approached and assaulted her in the early hours on Woodbury Drive. She sustained minor injuries trying to flee. "The woman was walking on Woodbury Drive near Stadium Boulevard at about 3:20 a.m. when Aparicio-Navas allegedly approached her from behind and grabbed her," as described in the CBS Detroit article.
A bond of $100,000 cash/surety was set at Aparicio-Navas' arraignment. As reported by The Detroit News, police also link him to a 2021 sexual assault, placing him as a repeat suspect in such cases. Aparicio-Navas remained in the freezing pond, efforts to evade capture were presumably quite ineffective against the frigid March temperatures.
The arrest was a result of combined persistence by the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office and the Ann Arbor Police Department, who managed to identify Aparicio-Navas as the suspect following the assault last September. A press release obtained by WWJ Newsradio 950 stated that evidence obtained after the attack led to his identification and the subsequent warrant for his arrest. The suspect now awaits trial, securely behind bars at the Washtenaw County Jail.
