News Nearby: Hopewell Police Connect Third Victim to Suspect in Ross Attacks

The man facing charges in Ross Township  is now being charged with the rape of a third victim in Beaver County. 

Hopewell Township Police filed charges Friday in Magisterial District Court 36-3-04 against Arthur Lamont Henderson, 38, of the North Side, in a rape that occurred Jan. 7—the same morning as one of the two that occurred in Ross Township, said Hopewell Township Police Detective Greg Durkos. 

The third victim is the only other known sexual assault victim at this time in Beaver or Allegheny counties, officials said. 

Bob Huston, director of the lab at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, said the lab has requested a review of local cases to determine if there are any other victims. 

"I put an inquiry out to city and county police to find out if there are any cases that meet his description and profile that we can move up the chain," Huston said. 

According to information released by Hopewell Township police, a woman on Westfield Drive reported that she was assaulted by a man in her townhome shortly after 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 7. 

She said she left the home and then returned, went upstairs, and heard a noise from the lower level, according to police. She said she went to a bannister overlooking steps in her home and saw a man pointing a handgun at her, said police. She told police she was pushed into her bedroom and sexually assaulted. 

The man demanded money before the assault, she told police. 

She described the man as black, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, of husky build and said he was wearing a blue jacket, black pants and a dark ski mask and gloves.

The age of the woman is not being released, nor is information about what the woman was doing before she returned to her house.

Durkos said a DNA analysis returned Friday from the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab in Greensburg matched the DNA in the Ross Township assaults. The analysis was expedited, he said. 

The attack in Hopewell was reported the same morning as the first attack in Ross Township. The attack in Ross happened at about 9:30 a.m. in the Woodhawk Club Apartments complex on Johnanna Drive, off of McKnight Road — about a 40-minute drive from the incident reported to have occurred after 7:45 a.m. in Hopewell. 

A second sexual assault in Ross that occurred Jan. 9 against a woman living in the Cascades Apartment complex off of Cemetery Lane has also been linked to Henderson, police said.

According to the complaint filed against Henderson by Ross Township Police, Henderson told his victims he needed money and forced them to hand over cash, jewelry and credit cards before assaulting and leaving them bound with duct tape. 

Henderson is being charged by Hopewell Police with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, burglary, criminal trespass, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, unlawful restraint and terroristic threatening, Durkos said. 

Ross Police have charged him with two counts each of rape, aggravated indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, burglary, firearms violations, indecent assault, theft and possession of instruments of crime. He has also been charged with three counts of robbery, intimidation of victims, false imprisonment, making terroristic threats, unlawful restraint; and one count each of reckless endangerment and access device fraud.

Henderson was also charged Friday by Ohio Township Police for a Jan. 10 incident in Emsworth Borough. Police filed felony charges in Magisterial District Court 05-2-01 for aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, theft by unlawful taking, persons not to possess, use, manufacture or control.

He also faces misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person, unlawful restraint, and possessing instruments of crime, according to court records. 

Henderson also faces federal charges that have not been detailed by police. Those charges involved less-serious crimes than those he is accused of in Ross Township, according to Ross Detective Brian Kohlhepp. 

Margaret Philbin, spokesperson for the United States Attorney Western District of Pennsylvania, said the federal charges remained under seal as of Friday afternoon. The FBI had offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. 

Henderson was arrested Thursday morning by police in the Hill District of Pittsburgh after a two-hour standoff.