SANTA CRUZ (KRON/BCN) — A 34-year-old man returned to jail Tuesday less than a day after he was released for allegedly attempting to sexually assault a Walgreens employee in Santa Cruz, police said Wednesday.
Billy Patton, a transient, was arrested on suspicion of assault with intent to commit rape, false imprisonment with force, sexual battery and burglary, police said.
Officers had responded to a report of an attempted sexual assault in the Walgreens store at 201 Front St. around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
Arriving officers took down a detailed description of the suspect from the 25-year-old victim and reviewed store security cameras for pictures, according to police.
The description and images were distributed to other officers, who recognized the suspect as Patton, police said.
About 15 minutes later, a traffic officer found Patton on the San Lorenzo Levee near Broadway Bridge and detained him without incident, police said.
Patton asked a 25-year-old employee to use the bathroom and allegedly pushed her inside the bathroom, where he tried to sexually assault her after she dialed the code to open the door, according to police.
The woman punched and kicked at the suspect, who ran away after another employee heard her screams, police said.
The victim’s hand was injured from fighting off the suspect, police said.
Patton was released from Santa Clara County Jail on Monday and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on Tuesday. He has an arrest history with Santa Cruz police for alleged crimes including assault to commit rape, stalking, false imprisonment with force, possessing illegal weapons and drug violations, police said.