From the Office of the District Attorney:
Martinez, Calif. – A Pittsburg man has been charged by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office for attacking a female victim at the Walnut Creek BART station.
Richard Lee McDowell, 35, faces a three-count felony complaint for kidnapping, attempted rape, and assault of a 20-year-old Jane Doe who resides in Daly City.
On October 7th, McDowell and the victim were on the same BART train around midnight when the train stopped at the Walnut Creek Station. The victim exited onto the platform and McDowell followed. No one else was on the platform when McDowell grabbed the victim and forced her into an elevator where the two struggled. At one point, the victim was able to activate the emergency alarm in the elevator and McDowell fled while BART Police were en route.
With images from security camera footage and a description, law enforcement put out a bulletin on the (sic) McDowell. On October 15th, he was arrested by BART police at the North Concord Station.
McDowell has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility. He will be arraigned on
October 21st at 1:30 pm in Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa in Martinez.
Good! BART, which is supposed to be public transportation to serve the greater Bay Area community has become a law enforcement free zone for bad guys to do as they wish. We need more of this to make the public feel safe about using something so basic as our local transit agency. I say this as a regular patron of BART, not a troll from the sidelines.
Should still be in jail for the stabbing he committed in 2020.
It should be clear to anyone caring to look that this dude is a repeat predator who deserves to be in jail for a long time.