'A.M. rapist' suspect now suspected in two Arlington Hts. crimes
An Arlington Heights man suspected in five burglaries and sexual assaults in San Diego in 2000 and 2001 - dubbed the "A.M. Rapist" because the crimes occurred in the early morning hours - is a suspect in two crimes in Arlington Heights, one of them very recent, police said Wednesday.
Stephen Darien Richardson, 33, was arrested Aug. 11 outside his Arlington Heights residence on Bloomington Avenue just south of Lake-Cook Road and taken to San Diego where he pleaded not guilty Monday to 23 felony charges. He is being held on $1 million bond.
In 2003 what was then called an attempted sexual assault in Arlington Heights produced DNA that eventually matched evidence from a San Diego crime scene, said Sgt. Mike Hernandez of the Arlington Heights Police Department.
That attack had similarities to attacks reported in San Diego where a man entered a home in the early morning through an unlocked door.
The DNA samples taken in both San Diego and Arlington Heights matched, but neither department had a name for a suspect at that time.
On July 29 of this year a woman in Arlington Heights scared an intruder away from her home. She identified Richardson from a lineup of photographs, said Hernandez.
That was two days after Arlington Heights authorities were contacted by San Diego police with Richardson's identity and location. A partial print found in 2000 at one of the California crime scenes had been enhanced and finally turned up Richardson's name.
Credit for doggedness goes to a San Diego investigator, said Sgt. Tom Seleski of the Arlington Heights Police Department.
At the same time Arlington Heights police coincidentally were revisiting the 2003 incident as a cold case.
The mug shot for the late July lineup apparently came from the Chicago Police Department, where Richardson had at one time been taken into custody in connection with a different type of crime, not sexual assault, said Hernandez.
San Diego police asked Arlington Heights authorities to wait on arresting Richardson because they wanted all their paperwork and evidence in order. Arlington Heights police were also getting warrants for their own DNA collection and kept him under surveillance as best they could, he said.
Arlington Heights police have sent the 2003 DNA and DNA collected from Richardson at the time of his arrest to a laboratory. When the results are back the department will talk to the Cook County States Attorney's office about charges, said Hernandez.
Officers did not know when or how long Richardson had lived in Arlington Heights. Hernandez thought Richardson lived in the area in 2003 but not in Arlington Heights, while Seleski said it is his understanding that Richardson has lived in several states. He also said that Richardson was employed and married.
Richardson was in the U.S. Navy when he was in San Diego, said Hernandez.
Arlington Heights police have contacted surrounding departments and have not yet heard of other cases that might be tied to Richardson.
Hernandez said no mug shot of Richardson is being released to avoid prejudicing any cases in the event other victims come forward.