MedicCook
10-06-2007, 01:11 PM
Mooning police led to Watts activist DNA rape link
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Mooning a police officer was community activist Steven Lee Myrick's undoing.
Myrick, 41, was convicted by a jury Tuesday of raping a Hawthorne woman during a burglary seven years ago.
The crime was unsolved until he exposed his bare buttocks years later and a DNA sample collected by officers linked him to the rape.
Jurors deliberated less than a day before finding Myrick guilty of residential burglary and two counts of rape.
He faces multiple life terms when sentenced Nov. 5 because jurors found true special allegations that a gun was used, the burglary was gang-related and the rape occurred during a burglary while the victim was tied up, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link said.
"Thank goodness for DNA," Link said.
Defense attorney James Cooper wouldn't comment on the verdict.
After Myrick was convicted of mooning officers outside his Watts housing project during a demonstration, he was required to submit a DNA sample for a law enforcement database.
http://davesdaily.com/out.php?id=33001&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhosted.ap.org%2Fdynamic%2Fstories %2FC%2FCA_BRF_SOCAL_ACTIVIST_RAPE_CAOL-%3FSITE%3DKFWB%26amp%3BSECTION%3DHOME%26amp%3BTEMP LATE%3DDEFAULT
TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Mooning a police officer was community activist Steven Lee Myrick's undoing.
Myrick, 41, was convicted by a jury Tuesday of raping a Hawthorne woman during a burglary seven years ago.
The crime was unsolved until he exposed his bare buttocks years later and a DNA sample collected by officers linked him to the rape.
Jurors deliberated less than a day before finding Myrick guilty of residential burglary and two counts of rape.
He faces multiple life terms when sentenced Nov. 5 because jurors found true special allegations that a gun was used, the burglary was gang-related and the rape occurred during a burglary while the victim was tied up, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link said.
"Thank goodness for DNA," Link said.
Defense attorney James Cooper wouldn't comment on the verdict.
After Myrick was convicted of mooning officers outside his Watts housing project during a demonstration, he was required to submit a DNA sample for a law enforcement database.
http://davesdaily.com/out.php?id=33001&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhosted.ap.org%2Fdynamic%2Fstories %2FC%2FCA_BRF_SOCAL_ACTIVIST_RAPE_CAOL-%3FSITE%3DKFWB%26amp%3BSECTION%3DHOME%26amp%3BTEMP LATE%3DDEFAULT