A 25-year-old Lexington man is facing multiple felony charges after police say he sexually assaulted a worker at gunpoint inside a Stanton Way business early Sunday. Drew B. Mullannix was arrested and charged with first-degree sodomy, first-degree sexual abuse and first-degree wanton endangerment, and he is being held at the Scott County Detention Center.
According to kentucky.com, police were called to the 1900 block of Stanton Way around 3 a.m. Sunday for a report of sexual assault, though WKYT reported officers responded to a business on Stanton Way at about 3:24 a.m. that same morning. The victim told police that an unknown man entered the business, displayed a firearm and sexually assaulted them, per the station's report. Police have not identified the business; Sgt. Bige Towery said specifics would not be released in order to protect the victim's identity.
The victim was treated at a hospital for injuries described by police as non-life-threatening, the same account notes. As first reported by LEX 18 News, investigators reviewed surveillance video and compared it with Mullannix's driver's license photograph, and a distinctive neck tattoo reportedly helped them identify him as a suspect.
Technology Trail Led Investigators to a Suspect
Police said automated license plate readers, commonly known as Flock cameras, were used to help identify the suspect, according to kentucky.com. The same outlet reported that investigators used both video from the scene and the license plate reader technology to zero in on Mullannix. LEX 18 News reported that nearby business surveillance footage showed a vehicle matching one registered to Mullannix, and that an automated license plate reader had captured the vehicle in the area before the assault, according to that outlet's reporting.
Lexington officers and special victims detectives were assisted by the department's Real Time Intelligence Center, Kentucky State Police and the Scott County Sheriff's Office, per WKYT's report. LEX 18 News also reported that Mullannix was arrested on a Fayette County warrant and that court records list a $100,000 secured bond.
Flock Camera Use Already Under Scrutiny in Lexington
The case arrives as Lexington's license-plate-reader network faces fresh public debate. The city operates 125 Flock cameras, which officials say are used to gather investigative leads, according to lpm.org. That same reporting found that 96% of searches tied to the city's Flock system came from out-of-state or federal agencies, with Lexington police accounting for just 63,000 of roughly 7 million total searches.
The scrutiny followed a separate incident in late September in which a Flock search led Lexington police to surround a Hartland home, only for further investigation to determine the vehicle was not the one tied to the case under investigation, lpm.org reported. In response, Mayor Linda Gorton announced she would organize an independent panel to review the city's contract with Flock, according to the same report.
Technology has played a role in cracking other recent Lexington sexual assault cases as well. In a separate investigation, DNA results led to the identification of an alleged assailant, with police notified of a preliminary DNA match on Aug. 18, according to LEX 18.
