DNA from Recent Assault Helps Solve Previous Attack in Walnut Creek

From the Walnut Creek Police Department:

In January 2013 Francisco Hernandez –Murrieta was convicted of Assault With Intent to Commit Rape for an attack that occurred in Walnut Creek on 6/9/12.
In that assault, Hernandez-Murrieta attacked a female that was walking home from downtown Walnut Creek on a trail late at night. The victim was able to fight off Hernandez- Murrieta and he was captured by police a short distance away. Hernandez-Murrieta was sentenced to 2 years State Prison for the offense. Hernandez- Murrieta is currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

As a result of his arrest and conviction, a swab of Hernandez-Murrieta DNA was taken and submitted to the California Department of Justice CODIS data base. A search of the DNA linked Hernandez- Murrieta to a previously unsolved 2010 sexual assault case that occurred in Walnut Creek on 8/14/2010. In that case the suspect attacked a female alone in a car near downtown Walnut Creek. DNA evidence was recovered in that case by the Contra Costa County Crime Lab who in turn submitted the samples to the Department of Justice database.

Walnut Creek Police detectives worked with the Contra Costa County Crime Lab to confirm the DNA match. Detectives were also able to obtain other corroborating evidence linking Hernandez-Murrieta to the 2010 attack. The two attacks occurred less than a half a mile apart. The case was submitted to the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. On 6/3/13, the Contra Costa County District Attorney filed charges of Assault to Commit Rape against Hernandez-Murrieta for the 2010 assault. He was additionally charged with being armed during that offense.

This case is particularly timely with the Supreme Court decision released 6/3/13 in Maryland v. King, continuing police authority to collect buccal DNA swabs from persons arrested for serious crimes. This case illustrates the value of this crime fighting tool and the success of the CODIS program.

Anyone with information on this case should call the Walnut Creek Police Department at (925) 943-5844.