Yellow Pages
MOUNT VERNON — An 18-year-old man accused of raping a woman and a teenage girl and trying to abduct two more women at gunpoint appeared in Skagit County Superior Court on Thursday, entering not guilty pleas to initial charges of assault and attempted kidnapping.
Rafael Ramos-Guzman could face more charges as law enforcement in both Skagit and Snohomish counties continue the investigation.
Ramos-Guzman is also known as Paco Gonzalez Hernandez and Paco Hernandez Gonzalez, court documents state. He has recently lived in Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley.
A 14-year-old Mount Vernon girl reported she had been raped at gunpoint in Arlington. On May 14, she had been walking in Mount Vernon when Guzman, whom she recognized, asked if she wanted a ride, according to an affidavit filed by the Skagit County Prosecutor’s Office.
She got into his vehicle, and they picked up the girl’s cousin and headed to a home in Arlington, the affidavit states.
The girl and her cousin started falling asleep while watching a movie. Guzman tried to kiss the victim, but when she told him to stop, he went outside and came back with a gun. He ordered her into a bedroom and raped her, the affidavit states.
Eleven days later, a 30-year-old woman was walking on East College Way near Skagit Valley College when a dark-colored car with tinted windows pulled up beside her. The driver, who said his name was “Carlos” offered her a ride, and she accepted, according to an affidavit.
The man drove her to Highway 9 and Diamond road just south of Sedro-Woolley, ordered her out of the car at gunpoint and raped her. The woman then ran to a nearby residence for help, the affidavit says.
About a week later, on June 3, a woman reported to police that she had been walking on East College Way near Big Rock Grocery just before 9 p.m. when a man with a silver revolver ordered her into his car. She ran away, flagging down passing vehicles, and the man drove away, the affidavit says.
Just a half an hour later, another woman reported a similar attempted kidnapping as she walked along Gunderson Lane just north of the Big Rock store. She reported that when she ran, the man chased her in his car and on foot.
Later that night, a Skagit County sheriff’s deputy arrested Guzman in a green 1995 Honda Accord in Sedro-Woolley.
Guzman told detectives, with the help of a Spanish-speaking interpreter, that he has lived in Skagit County for about two years. He formerly lived in Arlington and Los Angeles, the affidavit states.
According to Skagit County Jail records, Guzman has a Border Patrol hold on him, an indication that authorities believe he may be in the country illegally.
Guzman is charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a sexual motivation and a firearm enhancement and two counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping.
He is being held in the Skagit County Jail on $250,000 bail.
Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .
