Man arrested in connection with violent sexual assault at downtown bus stop

Spokane police are investigating a violent rape at a bus stop in downtown Spokane early Saturday morning.

Jonathan D. Winters, 36, was arrested Sunday in connection with the crime and charged Wednesday with second-degree rape. During his first court appearance, a judge set his bail at $10,000.

The woman told police she missed her late-night bus at the intersection of North Bernard Street and West Spokane Falls Boulevard, so she decided to sleep at the bus stop, according to court documents. While lying there, she said, a man came up to her with a blanket and she asked him if she could use it, to which he agreed.

Later, the woman told police, she woke up to the man assaulting her. She said he was trying to take off her pants but he was unable to remove them.

She told officers she was pinned against the north side of the bus shelter while her assailant held her down and beat her repeatedly in the back of the head. According to court documents, she told him “no” and “stop it” several times.

After receiving help from a security guard at the nearby Spokane Convention Center, the woman was transported to Deaconess Hospital, where she completed a sexual assault kit. Officers noted in court documents that they could feel a bump on the back of the woman’s head and saw scratch marks on her neck and forehead.

During their investigation, police pulled security video from the convention center that showed Winters entering and exiting the area where the woman says she was raped. According to records, he walked away heading west on Spokane Falls Boulevard at about 6:30 a.m.

Police arrested him Sunday. It’s unclear in court records where he was located.

On Tuesday, police filed a search warrant requesting access to Winters’ personal effects, which include a backpack, jacket and stocking cap. They also requested a sample of Winters’ DNA.