After a St. Paul woman fought for her life, security video helped identify rape suspect, charges say

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·6 min read
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A St. Paul woman feared she was going to die when a stranger broke into her home, held a gun to her head and sexually assaulted her, according to charges filed Friday.

Police reviewed residential security videos and one showed a pickup in the alley near the victim’s Macalester-Groveland residence at the time of the attack, and five of six license plate characters were visible. Police traced the license plate to a pickup registered to Deonte Marquon Thomas, 34, according to a criminal complaint.

St. Paul police announced Thursday they’d arrested Thomas, of Maplewood, that morning at his workplace in Blaine.

The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged Thomas with first-degree criminal sexual conduct while armed with a dangerous weapon, first-degree burglary and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited due to a felony conviction.

“Each of us should expect to be safe in our own homes, free from the violence that transpired in our community this past week,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a Friday statement. “I want to thank the sexual assault investigators from the St. Paul Police Department for their tireless and quick work. We will do everything in our power to bring justice to the victim and our community in this case.”

Sexual assaults by strangers are rare; eight out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

She tried to get his gun, bit his arm

The criminal complaint gave the following information from prosecutors:

The woman called 911 on April 15 and officers were dispatched to the 300 block of South Snelling Avenue about 4:20 a.m.

She provided a detailed description of the suspect, including that he had vertical scar extending from his sternum to his belt line and she said he smelled strongly of body odor and alcohol.

Police searched for the man, including using a canine and drones, but didn’t find him in the area.

The woman said she’d been sleeping when she heard pounding on the side door of her home. She then saw a man break the door’s glass, reach inside and unlock it. He went in her home and she asked, “What do you want?” He wanted to know where her money was.

The woman handed the man her purse and he took cash, but then said, “I’m not looking for money” and physically attacked her. She screamed for her neighbors, but the man told her not to yell and choked her, causing her to pass out.

When she regained consciousness, she found the man had removed some of her clothes and he threatened her with a gun.

She reported “she felt like she was in hell” during the assault and was afraid the man was going to slit her throat with glass or shoot her. She tried to grab the man’s gun, but he got the weapon and she said she bit the man’s arm as hard as she could.

After he left, she called 911.

RELATED: New program gives St. Paul-Ramsey County sex assault victims more options — and control

The investigation

Police obtained residential security videos and found one that showed the pickup and most of its license plate. A search of Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services led police to a 2003 gray Chevrolet Silverado registered to Thomas.

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A license plate reader captured the same truck heading away from the area two minutes after the woman called 911.

Another security video showed a man walking on the woman’s property near the time of the crime. Police showed the woman a still frame from the video and she said she identified him “as her assailant with 100% certainty.”

Police also showed Thomas’ girlfriend the photo and she identified the man as him. She said he has a large scar on his stomach, which matched the victim’s initial description.

Thomas’ girlfriend said she’d recently found a handgun in his vehicle and took it because he wasn’t supposed to have it. She then told Thomas and gave it back to him.

The arrest

After Thomas’ arrest at his workplace, at an address that’s listed as a recycling company, he agreed to speak with police.

He said he “(expletive) up,” was “‘frustrated’ and ‘angry’ over life circumstances and ‘violated someone’s personal space,'” the complaint said.

Thomas said he’d been driving around in the early morning hours and “randomly selected a house to break into,” the complaint continued. He used a rock or brick to break the door’s window.

He denied an aspect of the sex assault, and also said he had not choked the woman and not used a gun, though he said police would find a gun in his truck.

Police had a search warrant for Thomas’ vehicle and located a handgun in the glove box. Police also found a handgun in a safe in Thomas’ girlfriend’s home, where he was known to stay, and another handgun was in her vehicle. She couldn’t find the primary key for the safe and believed Thomas may have had it.

Forensic swabs were collected during the victim’s sexual assault exam and, after police arrested Thomas, they had a search warrant to collect his DNA. Test results are pending.

Previous convictions

Thomas’ mugshot shows he has a neck tattoo that says, “Forgive me Father for I have sinned.”

He made his first court appearance in the case on Friday, where bail was set at $250,000. He remained in custody as of late Friday afternoon.

His request for a public defender was denied, and an attorney wasn’t listed for him in the court file.

Minnesota court records show Thomas’ most recent convictions include disorderly conduct in Dakota County in 2020, domestic assault in a 2019 Maplewood case, disorderly conduct in a 2019 North St. Paul case and violating a domestic abuse no-contact order in a 2013 St. Paul case.

He was charged with felony burglary and robbery counts in 2008 Eagan and St. Paul cases and pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property in one case and aiding and abetting theft in the other.

Sexual violence resources

Free services for victims of sexual violence, and for their family and friends, are available through St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health’s SOS Sexual Violence Services’ 24-hour resource line at 651-266-1000 or asksos@co.ramsey.mn.us.

For more information on reporting sexual violence in Ramsey County, visit ramseycounty.us/OnMyTerms.

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network has more information and a national directory of programs at rainn.org.

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