A California man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly forced the driver of a single-vehicle collision into his car and later raped her on two occasions in December 2024 in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Montgomery County police identified the man as 27-year-old Mauricio Martinez-Garcia, of Madera, California, in a Wednesday news release. He is facing two counts of first-degree rape, one count of third-degree sexual offense, two counts of kidnapping and five counts of second-degree assault.
According to police, the charges date back to Dec. 18, 2024, when a woman ordered a meal at a restaurant on the 16100 block of Shady Grove Road. While waiting for her order at the restaurant bar, an “unknown male” approached her and paid for her meal after insisting on covering the tab.
After returning to her table, the woman ate some of her meal but stopped and left the restaurant before finishing her plate because she felt sick, according to Montgomery County police.
On the drive home, the woman was involved in a single-vehicle collision at the intersection of Sam Eig and Great Seneca Highways. She was approached by Martinez-Garcia, police said, who offered her help but then forced her into his car against her will.
Martinez-Garcia drove away from the crash to his apartment in Montgomery County, where authorities said the woman was raped. She was raped a second time after he drove the woman to her home in Prince George’s County.
Martinez-Garcia was officially arrested Tuesday, nearly a year after the woman reported the assault and underwent a forensic examination. Police said investigators were able to confirm Martinez-Garcia as the suspect after being alerted to a secondary analysis of a DNA sample that had been collected through a separate investigation carried out by the Department of the Army.
Police were not able to confirm to WTOP whether the “unknown male” the woman encountered at the bar was Martinez-Garcia. The case remains under investigation.
While Martinez-Garcia is awaiting extradition from California to Maryland, police are urging anyone with information about the suspect or incident to contact the Montgomery County Department of Police Special Victims Investigations Division at (240) 773-5400.
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