LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Lake County deputies have arrested a man they say raped a woman at a Clermont apartment complex before attacking two more women there later that same day.
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The first victim told Lake County investigators she was walking to her bus stop around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when she passed the suspect as he stood on the sidewalk in front of the Carrington at Four Corners apartments.
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The 18-year-old victim said the man grabbed her from behind, led her to a stairwell in one of the apartment buildings and raped her. Surveillance video from the complex confirmed her story.
The victim described the suspect as a black man in his 20s wearing a COVID-style face covering.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call from the same complex later that evening reporting a similar looking man attempting to abduct another woman.
40 minutes later, deputies say a third woman called the sheriff’s office saying a black man ran up behind her as she walked to her apartment on the opposite side of the complex. She said he ran away when she screamed.
After reviewing the surveillance video from the apartment complex, investigators identified a suspect vehicle and the likely driver, 18-year-old Brian Terick Wilkerson III.
According to his arrest report, Investigators conducted continuous surveillance on Wilkerson and the car for days.
The report says deputies were watching Wilkerson the day after the attacks as he “drove loops within the apartment complex” and parked several times before leaving after 30 minutes without making contact with anyone. Investigators say he then returned to his home on Rushwood Way less than half a mile from the complex.
Deputies noted he appeared to “mimic” the movements of women walking in the complex and at one point seemed to make one woman nervous when he parked near her, causing her to quickly change the direction she was walking.
Deputies also found clothes at Wilkerson’s house matching the clothing the suspect was described as wearing during the attacks.
Once they interviewed him, investigators say Wilkerson confessed to the attacks.
Wilkerson was arrested Monday and charged with sexual battery, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. He’s being held in the Lake County jail on $45,000 bond.
According to the sheriff’s office, Wilkerson could face additional charges later.
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