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Palm Desert man arrested for sexual assault

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THERMAL – A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Bermuda Dunes shortly after he allegedly attempted to harass another woman was behind bars Friday.

Linnell Letice Wilson, 21, of Palm Desert, was arrested Sunday near the 73000 block of Country Club Drive in Palm Desert, according to an updated statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Wilson is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on September 9 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Officers with the Thermal Sheriff's Station responded to a report of a suspicious person in the 78000 block of Avenue 42 at 2:56 a.m. on Aug. 21. When they arrived, the caller told them that an unknown masked man had followed her to her apartment and was startled when the woman screamed as he approached her, officers said.

They checked the area and were unable to locate the suspect, but obtained video surveillance footage containing an image of the suspect.

At 10:27 a.m. that same day, officers received a report of a sexual assault near Adams Street and Dune Lake Street. The victim told officers she was in the area between 2:30 and 3 a.m. when she was attacked and sexually assaulted by an unknown man, authorities said.

She described the suspect as 20 to 30 years old, about 5'8″ tall and of a heavy build. The suspect was wearing a black ski mask and fled in an unknown direction after the attack, authorities said.

Officers continued their investigation, believing that the descriptions in both cases referred to the same suspect.

After receiving information that helped identify the suspect, officers were able to locate and arrest Wilson on Sunday.

Wilson was released from prison about a month ago, 11 months into a 2½-year sentence, the updated statement said. His criminal history includes previous convictions for robbery, auto theft and weapons possession, authorities said.

He was booked into the John Benoit Detention Center without bail Monday morning on suspicion of multiple counts of sexual assault and robbery, inmate records show.

Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is asked to call Investigator Perez at the Thermal Sheriff's Station at 760-341-7867.

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