The man accused of raping a woman inside a Vienna, Virginia, hotel room earlier this month is now behind bars.
Fairfax County police said tips from the public and the help of other police departments led to the arrest of Patrick Craig Locke, 30, of D.C., on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re very happy to have him off the streets and have him behind bars,” said 2nd Lt. James Curry of the Fairfax County Police.
After releasing surveillance footage of a suspect on Monday, tips from the public led to the identification of a person recently arrested by Montgomery County police, Curry said.
Montgomery County police shared body camera footage of Locke’s arrest for shoplifting on Sept. 8, which matched the photos of the man in the alleged rape in Virginia.
“So once we had positively confirmed his identity, that’s when detectives were swiftly able to obtain warrants for his arrest. And shortly thereafter, he was arrested at the Metro Center metro station,” Curry said.
Locke is accused of entering the woman’s hotel room with a gun on Oct. 1 and attacking her. Curry said it doesn’t appear the victim knew her attacker.
After the alleged rape, Locke was chased by a man who knew the victim as he was escaping. That man said Locke pointed a gun at him during the chase. Curry said so far the gun has not been found.
“We continue to investigate to try and determine some of the circumstances that led up to this horrible crime,” Curry said.
Curry also credited Metro Transit Police for helping to trace Locke’s travels on the Metro system, from Virginia back into D.C., and for providing security camera footage of him and making the arrest.
As for the woman, Curry said she is out of the hospital and is receiving assistance and support from the department’s victim services division.
“It’s the worst day in someone’s life, when something like this happens; and you know, we’re here to help them through,” Curry said.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Locke in the past, or who has information in the case, is asked to call Fairfax County police at 703-246-7800, option 3.
