Police arrest Lowell man in trail attack on woman

FAYETTEVILLE -- Police arrested a suspect in the attack on a woman who was jogging on Lake Fayetteville Trail, Fayetteville Police spokesman Sgt. Craig Stout said.

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Richard Leroy Turner, 33, of Lowell was arrested Wednesday in connection with kidnapping, aggravated assault and second-degree battery, according to a news release.

April Robertson, 27, of Springdale reported the assault at 2:22 p.m. Sept. 13 -- during what is normally a busy time of day on the heavily trafficked public trail, officials said previously.

She told police she was jogging when a man punched her in the head and face and dragged her into the woods. She got away from the man and called for help, according to earlier reports.

Robertson is a reporter for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Police found items in the woods where Robertson said the attack happened.

Stout did not have details about what kind of items were found. Items were submitted to the state Crime Laboratory, where DNA was collected and compared to a database of known offenders. The DNA profile matched Turner, police said Wednesday.

Turner is a convicted sex offender from a 2002 incident involving an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl, Stout said.

Turner's arrest warrant was not available Wednesday evening.

Turner had not been booked into the Washington County jail by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Metro on 11/12/2015

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