CRIME

Topeka police arrest man after kidnapping, attempted rape in central Topeka

Angela Deines
Leroy Hudson a 67-year-old homeless man, was booked into Shawnee County Jail in connection with kidnapping aggravated battery and attempted rape. (Shawnee County Jail)

Topeka police have arrested a man who they say tried to rape a woman after forcing her into a vehicle late Thursday night in central Topeka.

Lt. Steve Roth said in a news release that Leroy Hudson, of Topeka, was booked into the Shawnee County Jail in connection with kidnapping, aggravated battery and attempted rape. He said the woman was treated at a Topeka hospital for minor injuries.

According to information provided by the Shawnee County Jail, Hudson, 67, was booked into jail at 3:55 a.m. Friday and is homeless.

Roth said officers responded to the area of S.W. 10th and Clay after several calls about a female being attacked and forced into a brown Cadillac SUV. The calls were made shortly before 11:30 p.m. Friday.

Soon after those calls, Roth said a security guard near S.E. 29th and Indiana called police, saying he had been flagged down by the victim who needed help. He said the victim told officers she had been beaten and forced into a vehicle, where the suspect attempted to rape her.

“A short time later, officers saw the Cadillac and conducted a high-risk stop, taking the suspect into custody after a brief struggle,” Roth said.

Lt. Colleen Stuart said the vehicle used in Thursday night’s incident wasn’t stolen. She said she didn’t know yet if the vehicle was the same one connected to a similar incident that occurred on Oct. 27, when Topeka police were called to the Hi-Crest neighborhood in southeast Topeka in connection to a woman saying she was raped and then thrown out of a dark brown or red SUV near the intersection of S.E. 35th Terrace and Dupont Place.

An officer on the scene of the Oct. 27 incident initially said they were investigating a sexual assault, but later said the victim declined to file a report.

Stuart said officers responded to a call on Oct. 27 involving Hudson, who reportedly struck a “known subject’s residence with his vehicle” and was located a short time later in the vehicle and then transported to jail on charges from that incident.

According to information provided by the Shawnee County Jail, Hudson was booked into jail at 1:18 a.m. Oct. 29 on a warrant for aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, open container and failure to stop at an injury accident.

A jail book-in employee said the aggravated assault and criminal damage to property charges were dropped by the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office, and he bonded out of jail on Nov. 5 on a $1,500 bond.

Contact reporter Angela Deines at (785) 295-1143 or @AngelaDeines on Twitter.