Crime Stoppers tip leads to arrest in 2 Charlotte sex assaults

A Crime Stoppers tip led to the arrest of a man in two recent Charlotte sexual assaults, including of a woman carjacked as she filled her tank with gas at a station on Lawyers Road in September, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Friday.

Police obtained arrest warrants charging 24-year-old Lajames Arterian Ross with first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree kidnapping, Sgt. Alli Rooks said at a news conference at CMPD headquarters Friday afternoon.

A tipster called Crime Stoppers after recognizing Ross in surveillance photos that police released to the media, CMPD Detective Brandon Miller said at the news conference.

Police said they also linked Ross to the sexual assault of another woman in the same area of Charlotte, Rooks said. In that case, the victim was sexually assaulted after she and Ross “arranged a meeting,” according to Rooks. Police declined to divulge the nature of the meeting.

“We could not have done this without the help of the community,” CMPD Lt. Brad Koch said at the news conference.

Ross will be extradited from Lancaster County, S.C., where he has family, police said.