HOUSTON – The suspect in a Friday evening sexual assault at a parking garage at the University of Houston is wanted despite the university announcing he had been arrested on Saturday.
Eric Latroy Brown, 40, is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of aggravated robbery after a student was attacked around 5:30 p.m. last Friday.
According to court records, a 21-year-old woman was approached by a suspect, identified as Brown, as she cleaned trash out of her car on the second floor of the Welcome Center Student Parking Garage on Wheeler Ave.
Brown approached her and asked for a pen, according to the records. When the woman replied she didn’t have one, Brown allegedly pushed her into her car and threatened her with a knife. At that point, Brown allegedly sexually assaulted her.
He then stole $30 from the woman before fleeing, according to court records.
Later that night, officers patrolling the garage approached who they thought was the suspect, when Brown became aggressive and a struggled ensued. He had to be Tased.
They identified him as the suspect in the sexual assault based on surveillance video and his tattoos as described by the victim, according to records.
On Feb. 8, the University of Houston Police Department announced a person who matched the description of the suspect in the sexual assault was in custody.
But, as it turns out, he got released from the Harris County Jail on Saturday.
KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry reached out to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, which confirmed University of Houston Police detained Brown on an unrelated charge of resisting arrest and assault of a public servant, but those charges were ultimately declined for lack of sufficient evidence.
Records show Brown was taken to the Harris County Jail at 8:41 a.m. on Saturday, where he was on an investigative hold, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
It’s unclear if the sexual assault and robbery charges stemming from Friday night were presented to the DA’s office at that time, and the University of Houston has not been able to answer that question.
The district attorney’s office also said when Brown was arrested for assault of a public servant and resisting arrest, there was a shift change and a second intake prosecutor came in, who declined charges based on insufficient evidence.
Brown was then released later Saturday, and for some unknown reason, charges in the parking garage attack didn’t get filed and accepted until Wednesday morning.
The University of Houston and the school’s police department have not answered KPRC 2’s questions about the delay in filing charges, which resulted in Brown being back on the streets and wanted.
Under Texas law, someone can only be detained for up to 48 hours without charges being filed.
If you have seen Brown, you are urged to call police immediately.