WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A Providence man is facing rape charges after police followed a trail of blood near the victim to the suspect’s apartment.
The Providence Journal reports that 26-year-old Richard Lopes was held without bail at his arraignment Thursday in District Court.
Police say they found a 45-year-old woman collapsed in a driveway near a city park, her face swollen and bruised. She told police she had been attacked in a neighboring greenhouse and escaped as far as the driveway.
Police say they followed a trail of blood from the greenhouse to a nearby apartment, where they found Lopes asleep. Police say he had blood on his clothes and scratches on his body.
The woman was taken to Rhode Island Hospital for facial injuries and bleeding of the brain.
