An eighteen-year-old Richmond man has been arrested in connection with a sexual assault that occurred on the Ohlone Greenway in May, the El Cerrito Police Department reported. Malachi Attaway was apprehended by police and detectives from the El Cerrito Police Department while exiting the Contra Costa County courthouse in Martinez yesterday.
The initial investigation by El Cerrito Police Detectives centered on an assault that happened during the early hours of Sunday, May 18. According to the victim's report, the suspect made first contact with her at Del Norte BART Station, before abducting her and committing the sexual assault along the greenway, between Hill Street and Blake Street, somewhere between midnight and 1:30 AM. At the time the suspect was described as a black male, in his early 20s, skinny and roughly 6-feet tall, he was wearing a black beanie, a black hooded sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and a gold chain, El Cerrito Police Department reported.
On Tuesday, the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) notified El Cerrito detectives of a potential match to the DNA collected in the case. This breakthrough led to the identification of Attaway as the suspect. A Superior Court judge promptly issued an arrest warrant following an El Cerrito Police Detective's request.
Malachi Attaway was taken into custody without incident and processed at the El Cerrito Police Department following his court appearance for a separate criminal case. After booking, he was transported to the Martinez Detection Facility, where bail was set at $1,530,000.
