A sharp-eyed witness and a subsequent DNA match are being credited for the arrest of a man in connection with the kidnapping and attempted rape of a woman outside a North Lauderdale beauty shop eight months ago.
Theodore Antonio Shirley, 19, of Tamarac was charged this week with kidnapping, carjacking with a firearm, burglary with assault or battery, burglary of a conveyance, attempted rape and grand theft of a firearm.
According to a Broward Sheriff's Office arrest report:
Shirley targeted the 29-year-old victim leaving the North Lauderdale store at 7250 W. McNab Road and getting into her 1996 Cadillac about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 1. Shirley pulled a handgun from his shorts, pointed it at her head, covered her mouth and forced his way into the car.
After pinning the woman down, he put the gun in her mouth, taped her arms, head and mouth, placed her in the back seat and began driving.
A witness saw Shirley point the gun at the unidentified victim's head and called 911. A deputy then spotted the Cadillac and the woman in the back seat with her wrists bound.
When the deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop, Shirley ran away from the car but left behind a loaded handgun stolen from Lee County, a beanie, gloves and duct tape. The BSO crime lab processed his belongings for DNA.
The case lingered until Shirley's April 10th arrest on an armed burglary charge. After a DNA sample was taken from him in connection with that crime, it showed a potential match with samples taken from the kidnapping and carjacking case, the Sheriff's Office said.
Last month, investigators interviewed Shirley and, according to the Sheriff's Office, he confessed to committing the crime outside the beauty supply store. He said he had planned to rob and rape the victim due to his "sexual urges," the Sheriff's report said.
Shirley was formally charged Tuesday when the crime lab confirmed the DNA match. He's being held at Broward's Main Jail without bond.
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DNA links Tamarac man to October North Lauderdale crime fueled by 'sexual urges'