Crime

17-year-old suspect in Chapel Hill trail incidents accused of sexual battery

Chapel Hill Police Department
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Key Takeaways

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  • Police identified a 17-year-old suspect in multiple trail incidents in Chapel Hill.
  • Police seek a juvenile petition for sexual battery after a Nov. 7 trail contact.
  • Officers increased patrols near Umstead Drive and Pritchard Ave.; probe continues.

Chapel Hill police have identified a 17-year-old suspect in connection with a series of incidents on trails in the Umstead Drive and Pritchard Avenue Extension area .

Police are seeking a juvenile petition for sexual battery in a Nov. 7 incident, police said Wednesday. That day, a woman said a man touched her while she was running on Bolin Creek Trail near Pritchard Avenue Extension around 3:40 p.m. The man was wearing a black hooded jacket and gray sweatpants.

Police put out a statement on Nov. 14 that investigators were looking into similarities between that incident and two others:

  • On Oct. 23 around noon, a woman reported concerns about a man, wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants, pacing on the Tanyard Branch Trail.
  • On Nov. 12 around 6:20 p.m., two women reported a man, wearing a dark zip-up jacket and dark pants, following them between Umstead Park and Village Drive.

No one else is suspected to be involved, Chapel Hill town spokesperson Alex Carrasquillo told The News & Observer.

Increased patrols will continue on and near trails in the area of Umstead Drive and Pritchard Avenue Extension, police said Wednesday.

Twumasi Duah-Mensah
The News & Observer
Twumasi Duah-Mensah is a Breaking News Reporter for The News & Observer. He began at The N&O as a summer intern on the metro desk. Triangle born and Tar Heel bred, Twumasi has bylines for WUNC, NC Health News and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. Send him tips and good tea places at (919) 283-1187.
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