Ramsey County prosecutors charged a St. Paul man in three rapes Thursday involving violent attacks in a van.
Larry Donnell Griffin, 38, was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop. He was charged with five counts each in two separate attacks in September and October. The charges include two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery. He faces two counts of rape in an August attack.
Griffin is accused of raping all three women at gunpoint after forcing them into his van. Each case is linked to Griffin through DNA evidence, police spokesman Steve Linders said. He said Griffin "may be" linked to other cases. According to police: The suspect allegedly committed the crimes on Aug. 30, Sept. 22 and Oct. 25 on the city's East Side.
In August, officers encountered a woman near the SuperAmerica gas station in the 1100 block of Payne Avenue. She told them a man approached her in a gold or tan minivan, asked if she needed a ride and then assaulted her at gunpoint.
In September, officers found a woman walking on Payne Avenue near Magnolia Avenue. The woman, who was not wearing a shirt, told them she had been robbed and raped at gunpoint.
In October, officers saw a naked woman about 11:50 p.m. as she ran across Case Av. E. She told officers she had just been raped and released by her attacker.
The woman said she was walking on Payne Avenue near Geranium Avenue about 11:30 p.m. when a tan minivan pulled up. The driver asked for her name, and she ignored him.
A short time later, she heard a noise behind her and turned around. She saw a man about 6 feet tall, with a medium build, wearing a black ski mask, a worn baseball cap, black pants and a light-colored jacket over a sweatshirt.
