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Police say a man impersonating a police officer raped and robbed a woman he met on Craigslist at a University City motel.
Wayne Ford, 42, was arrested Thursday in a car near his apartment, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they are investigating whether Ford might have impersonated an officer in other crimes.
A 21-year-old S.C. woman told police she had given her hotel room and phone number to a man answering an ad she posted on Craigslist. The man went to her room about 4 a.m. Tuesday at the Comfort Inn and Suites on University City Boulevard. She said he showed a police badge and handgun, then sexually assaulted and robbed her, according to police.
Sgt. Darrell Price declined to say at a news conference Friday what the woman's ad involved. But he said the woman was not expecting a police officer to show up at her hotel. Investigators were able to identify Ford based on phone records.
Police searched Ford's home and car but didn't locate the badge or other police paraphernalia. Ford is charged with rape, kidnapping, sex offense, armed robbery, and impersonating a police officer.
He has three previous convictions for indecent exposure in Mecklenburg County, and was given probation each time.
Police said Friday they're looking into whether Ford could be connected to the March robbery of a woman. She, too, had posted an ad on Craigslist. A man came to her hotel room and “told the victim he was a cop and revealed a gun in his waistband,” a police report says.
Tuesday's incident marks the second time in a month that Craigslist has been cited by police as part of a rape investigation in the Charlotte area. Rodney Liverman Sr., 39, is charged with rape and three other sex offenses in the May 31 attack on a Kannapolis woman.
In that case, the victim's husband is accused of arranging the rape through Craigslist. The Observer does not identify victims of sexual assault and has not named the husband charged in this case to protect the victim's identity.
Police urged people Friday to be smart in using online classified advertisements such as Craigslist. “Don't give people your address,” Price said. “Be wary of giving people your phone number.”
