New Castle County Police (NCCPD) have named 47-year-old Kwesi Hudson as a potential suspect in a string of sexual assaults and kidnappings that took place in early 2017. Officials said that Hudson has been in custody in Pennsylvania since May 2017.
He was arrested after trying to rob a CVS in Pennsylvanian in May of 2017. In that incident Hudson was wearing a mask and holding employees at gunpoint when he attempted robbed a CVS in Media Pa., according to police.
During the robbery attempt Hudson forced the store employees into a bathroom before trying to flee, officials added.
Arriving officers blocked Hudson’s escape and freed the workers. Police said that he refused to surrender for over an hour.
In August of this year Hudson was sentenced by a Pennsylvania court to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 41 years for the CVS robbery.
New Castle County officials said that a grand jury has indicted Hudson on several charges related to the 2017 sexual assaults and kidnappings in Delaware.
Developing
In February of 2017 authorities began investigating sexual assaults, where the suspect kidnapped the women and forced them to withdrawal money from ATMs, according to police.
The first incident occurred at the Top of the Hill Apartment Complex, located at 2101 Prior road in Wilmington, on February 13, 2018. During that incident police say that the suspect had unlawful sexual contact with the victim. At the time NCCPD Spokeswoman Tracey Duffy said the investigation revealed the victim was taken from the parking lot of the complex at approximately 7:45 p.m. and forced into her own vehicle by the suspect.
The suspect then drove around the area and forced the victim to withdraw an undisclosed amount of cash from an ATM on Marsh Road, said Duffy. During the ordeal, the suspect assaulted the victim by striking her in the face and had unlawful sexual contact with the victim while in the vehicle, according to Duffy.
Less than a week later, on February 19, 2017 at about 7:45 p.m., the second incident occurred in the community of Arundel Apartments, near Carousel Park. Officials quickly tied the two cases together. “It appears to be related to the February 13, 2017 kidnapping at Top of the Hill Apartments”, said NCCPD J.P. Piser
At around 8:40 pm on Sunday, February 19, County Police were dispatched to the area of Arundel Apartments for a reported kidnapping, said Piser. When officers contacted the female victim she stated she arrived home to the apartment complex at about 7:45 p.m. when she was approached by a male in the common area of her apartment building.
The man was wearing a black mask, dark clothing and brandished a handgun, according to Piser. The suspect forced the victim into her apartment where he demanded money before physically and sexually assaulted the victim in her apartment, according to authorities.
Piser said that the suspect then forced the victim outside and into her vehicle where he drove her to several ATMs in the Pike Creek area and forced her to withdraw an undisclosed amount of money.
The suspect and victim went to the following ATMs in the Pike Creek Area: PNC Bank on Limestone Road, Wells Fargo on Limestone at Papermill Road, M&T Bank on Limestone Road, Artisan’s Bank in the Linden Hill Shopping Center. During this incident, similar to the kidnapping at Top of the Hill Apartments, the suspect spoke to himself about his intentions and plans, said Piser.
In that incident the victim was able to escape and call 911. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment, where she was released with non-life-threatening injuries.
A third incident occurred at the Bluffs Apartments in Pike Creek on Monday, March 6, 2018, at around 6:30 in the evening, according to authorities.
In that case NCCPD officers were dispatched to the area of Sheldon Drive in the Bluffs for an attempted robbery. Officers contacted the victim who stated she was walking her dog when she observed a male dressed in all black near the front door of her apartment.
The suspect approached the victim and stated he was going to rob her as he displayed a handgun, said Piser. He then followed her to her apartment. When they arrived at the apartment, another adult resident answered the door. The suspect then fled on foot towards the entrance to the complex. The female victim was not assaulted or injured. Officers responded to the scene and searched the area, but did not locate the suspect.
Although the suspect’s race could not be determined because he was wearing a disguise, police were able to provide some clues to the man’s identity. At the time officials told the public that the suspect in all three cases was described as a 5’7”-5’10” average to thinly-built male. In the Top of the Hill incident as well as the Arundel incident, the suspect was described as having a distinct accent but Detectives were unable to determine exactly what type of accent.
In early March, then Interim Chief of Police, Lieutenant Colonel Vaughn Bond Jr. said “We are currently deploying resources throughout the County in an effort to apprehend the suspect,”
“This deeply concerns all of us and we are taking this personally. These victims could have been a member of our family. We do have surveillance video and are working on enhancing it, but regrettably the images of the suspect are very poor. If we obtain a good photo or video of the suspect that we think will lead to the identification of this suspect, we will release it.
Please be aware that incidents like this are occurring in areas surrounding the city of Newark. Stay safe.https://t.co/nDpWroCKMD
— UDel Police Dept (@udelpolice) March 7, 2017
1st Incident – Top Of The Hill
2nd Incident – Arundel Apartments
3rd Incident – Bluffs Apartments
Purple – Not Publicly Associated By Law Enforcement
Red – Publicly Associated By Law Enforcement
On Monday March 13, 2017 at approximately 8:13 p.m., the Newark Police, with the assistance of the NCCPD and Trooper 4 (Delaware State Police Aviation) responded to a report of a robbery in the 300 block of Christina Mill Drive.
In that officers made contact with the 24-year-old female victim who stated that she was approached from behind while in the parking lot of the Christina Mill apartment complex, and forced into her apartment with a weapon to her back.
That incident prompted the University of Delaware Police to issue an alert to its students
UD Alert: Newark Police Department is investigating an attempted kidnapping which occurred at Christina Mill Apartments. The suspect is described as a male wearing dark clothing and gloves, and the suspect spoke with an unknown accent.
The suspect implied that he had a weapon. Members of our community are reminded to be vigilant. If you see something, say something. Be aware of your surroundings and use well-lit paths. Travel in groups when possible and call 911 to report suspicious activity. Go to http://www1.udel.edu/police/services/safety-tips.html for more safety tips.
In this case Newark Police said that they determined that the case was a hoax. The woman that reported the Christina Mill Drive robbery was later arrested and charged by police.