Crime & Safety

Police Arrest Suspect in 'Cold Case' Rape

An Oakland man was arrested Thursday morning in connection with a November 2010 sexual assault on Lincoln Avenue.

The Alameda Police Department this morning (Aug. 16) arrested a suspect in a 2010 "cold case" rape after a DNA database indicated a possible match with evidence collected nearly two years ago, according to the APD.

The suspect was identified as Tywan Johnson, 37, of Oakland. He was arrested on mutliple felony charges stemming from an early morning sexual assault on Nov. 16, 2010, in the 2400 block of Lincoln Avenue, said Sgt. Wayland Gee of the APD violent crimes unit.

Johnson was taken into custody at 9:41 a.m. today at the Hayward Hall of Justice, 24405 Amador St., Hayward, where he was appearing in Alameda County Superior Court on an unrelated theft charge, Gee said. He was arrested without incident on a no-bail warrant, Gee said.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 2010 incident occurred outdoors and the victim, an Oakland woman, did not know her attacker, Gee said. He said the victim required some medical care after the attack.

According to an APD memo, DNA evidence collected at the time of the assault was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), an FBI-funded database that stores DNA profiles and looks for possible matches. The APD was notified of a possible match in May 2012 and investigators reopened the case, eventually identifying and locating the suspect, the memo said.

Find out what's happening in Alamedawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Johnson is being held at the Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland pending arraignment.

Don't miss a day of Alameda news, opinion and events. Sign up here for the Alameda Patch morning e-newsletter. And 'like' us on Facebook!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.