Tucson police do not know whether suspect is same man suspected in prior campus rapes

A man attempted to sexually assault a female resident of an apartment complex close to campus two weeks ago, according to Tucson Police Department reports.

The woman was in the laundry room of the University Heights Apartments at 1201 N. Park Ave. at 6:45 p.m. on June 12, when she saw a man at the door.

She had watched the man drive into the complex, leave and then return, walking around the property. She did not think much of it at the time because she thought the man was making a delivery, reports stated.

The man at the door of the laundry room acted like he was activating the keypad. The woman opened the door.

The man asked the woman if the laundry room was the only one in the complex. It was, the woman said.

Then the man asked the woman if she lived in the complex. She said that she did, police reports stated.

The man said he did not.

The man told the woman that he was there to meet someone.

The woman began taking her clothes out of the dryer because she said she felt nervous. Some of her clothing fell on the ground. The man picked up her clothing. She reached for the clothes, but the man would not let go. He stuffed the clothing down the front of his pants, police reports stated.

Then the man put his arm on the dryer, blocking the woman Îs exit.

The woman became frantic.

She charged the man and ran out the door. The man suspected in the incident was seen running out of the complex after the woman fled.

He had also been seen acting suspiciously in the apartment parking lot, near a car that was not his.

The woman described the man suspected of the attempted sexual assault as a white male in his 30s weighing about 170 pounds, who had short brown hair, a tan complexion and a medium build.

Tucson Police Sgt. Marco Borboa said Monday that police have not determined whether the suspect that the woman described is tied to previous sexual assaults because the woman looked at the suspect only briefly.

The management in the apartment has circulated flyers around the apartment that notify tenants of the incident and remind them to keep doors locked and take other precautions, like using peepholes and getting to know their neighbors.

That isnât enough, said two female UA students who live at University Heights and withheld their names out of concern for their safety. One student wanted brighter lighting around the property at night and more security guards.

One student spoke of break-ins within the complex, including one February break-in at her home that she reported to the Tucson Police Department, where some of her underwear and photo albums were stolen.

The student said her window was forced open when metal clips designed to prevent her window from fully opening gave way.

Since then the managers have given residents bars ÷ like wooden dowels ÷ to reinforce the windows and secure them shut, said Kirk Saunders, a manager at Amos Realty Services, which oversees University Heights Apartments.

The student said that she has since received one of these bars.

Though the apartments do have a ăcourtesy patrol,ä Saunders said, he would not comment on security guards, as is common for apartment companies.

It is up to the residents to keep themselves safe, Saunders said, adding that he wondered if police had done enough to combat crime in the area.

ăWe do everything we can to help our residents, and thatâs the best we can do,ä Saunders said. ăYou canât guarantee the safety of anybody anyplace. Even if you had a security officer, you canât watch everybody everywhere all the time.ä

Saunders said he believes break ins are frequent around the UA campus, and that he thinks his property is not any more or less dangerous than any other property in the Tucson area.

University Heights residents Caeser Claudi and Paola Sainz said that they had heard about the attempted assault, but had not had any security problems themselves or within their apartments.