WASHINGTON – A man wanted in connection with three home invasions in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties that police call “evil” waived extradition from North Carolina to Montgomery County Sunday.
Kevin Darnell Ray, 33, of Fort Washington is being held without bond, charged with home invasions in Wheaton and Bethesda. The home invasions occurred on Jan. 10 and Jan. 11.
In the Wheaton home invasion on McMahon Road, a man with a handgun threatened a woman in her garage. Police say the robber demanded money and took off with her vehicle, debit card and personal identification number.
In the Bethesda incident, police say the suspect armed with a handgun forced his way into a Bardon Road home. He tied up the homeowner and her teenage son and sexually assaulted a housekeeper in a bathroom at gunpoint before taking off with her car and debit card, police say.
Police in Montgomery County said Monday it appears the attacks in Wheaton and Bethesda were random, and that Ray got to each location on foot after taking Metro.
Additionally, Ray faces charges in connection with a home invasion in Temple Hills. Ray followed the woman back into her home after she had gone out to warm up her car, police say, where she was sexually assaulted.
Police arrested Ray Saturday in Kitty Hawk, N.C. He faces charges of armed robbery, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, first-degree sexual offense, third-degree sexual offense and first-degree assault.
At a joint news conference Monday, Montgomery and Prince George’s County officials said police are still looking for a second suspect in the series of home invasions. Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger gave no further details on that suspect, but said police agencies are working to find him.
Ray traveled to North Carolina with a female acquaintance who is not connected to the attacks, according to police.
He is a registered sex offender and has also served time for manslaughter, police say. When asked if Ray should have been out on the streets based on that record, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said his office is exploring whether Ray qualifies for a sentence that would exclude an option of parole, if convicted.
Prince George’s County Police Chief Mark McGaw expressed relief over Ray’s arrest and classifies the attacks as “evil.”
“It just continually got worse from one to the next to the next,” he says.
Police had concerns that the invasions would escalate, he says, adding the search of an Oxon Hill home where Ray had stayed turned up guns, masks and wigs, which could tie Ray back to the home invasions.
In the Temple Hills attack, police say Ray tied up six residents using zip ties. The youngest victim there was a 7-year-old child. Ray raped one of the residents of the Temple Hills home, police say.
In an unusual twist, a relative of Ray’s, a woman who described herself as his aunt, appeared at the news conference. Asked why she was there, she explained the family was looking for answers to what happened.
“It’s dumbfounding to us. This is not the person that we know,” says the woman, who gave her name only as “Ms. Hatcher.”
“We’re just concerned like anybody else would be, if it were your children.
“We’re made out to be a family of thugs, and that’s not who we are. There could be a bad apple in some families.”
Ray is currently in custody in Montgomery County and a bond review hearing is set for Tuesday in Rockville.
Related Stories:
- Home invasion suspect charged with sexual assault in Pr. George’s Co.
- 3rd home invasion in one week have police searching for one suspect
- Police: Sexual assault during home invasion in Bethesda
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