East Coast Rapist Captured in New Haven; Suspect Previously Arrested for Woodbridge Larceny

An arrest in the case of the East Coast Rapist has been a long time coming, but yesterday afternoon Aaron Thomas of 120 Pendleton St., New Haven, was taken into custody as a suspect in 17 rapes that spanned 14 years and four states. In the end, it was a court date for a Sept. 3 Woodbridge arrest for misdemeanor larceny that helped police acquire the evidence they needed to arrest him.

The September arrest occurred when Thomas tried to buy a tire at Amity Bicycle in Woodbridge for a bike rim from a $9,000 bike. The bike shop employee noticed pry marks on the rim, and realizing that no one uses a screwdriver to remove a tire from such an expensive bike, made the call to police. The resulting investigation showed the bike had been stolen from Devil’s Gear in New Haven on Aug. 10. Thomas was arrested and charged with fourth degree larceny. That arrest is what placed him at the New Haven Court House on Thursday where the crucial evidence was collected that supplied the DNA for his arrest for rape.

According to police, who had kept Thomas under surveillance for several days prior following a tip they received from Prince William County in Virginia, Thomas smoked a cigarette outside the courthouse where he had gone for his court appearance. Authorities retrieved the cigarette butt when he tossed it to the ground and had it tested for DNA, which was a match to that collected in the rape cases.

Police spokeswoman Julie Johnson said both the New Haven and Prince William County Police Department’s had active arrest warrants for Thomas. New Haven Special Investigations Unit Detective Kristine Cuddy obtained an arrest warrant for Thomas and he was charged with sexual assault in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, and risk of injury to a minor with a $1 million cash bond. He was also charged as a fugitive from justice in the Prince William County case with charges of two counts of rape, abduction and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the first degree.

Last Monday, authorities had begun posting composite pictures of the East Coast Rapist on billboards in Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland and Connecticut, where he is accused of attacking a New Haven woman in 2007, climbing through her window and raping her while her 11-month-old child slept in a crib beside her.

The last known attack by the East Coast Rapist was, oddly enough, in Woodbridge, VA, on Halloween night in 2009 when he raped two teens on their way home from trick-or-treating.