Florida man held on Lewiston rape charge

A Florida man who is accused of trying to rape a woman early Sunday on a downtown Lewiston sidewalk is in the Nez Perce County Jail on $100,000 bond.

In his first appearance Monday in Lewiston’s Magistrate Court on a charge of attempted rape, Derald K. Baze showed little regard for the severity of the accusation.

“This is sick, man,” Baze told Magistrate Kent J. Merica. “That’s (expletive), man.”

Baze, 25, of Jacksonville, Fla., was arrested around 4 a.m. Sunday on the 200 block of D Street after police allegedly found him with his trousers open struggling with a woman who was naked from the waist down, according to a Lewiston police report.

Investigators said the alleged victim, an unnamed Clarkston woman, had little recollection of the events leading up to Baze’s arrest. She had abrasions on her cheek, chin, knees, hands and shoulder, according to a police report. She told police that Baze forced himself on her after she left a downtown bar. Baze had scratch marks on his neck, according to a police report in court records.

Police found the alleged victim’s pants and underwear several yards apart in the middle of the parking lot at Jones Supply. Also, her boots, socks, purse and the contents of her purse were found at intervals on the street, sidewalk and parking lot, according to investigators. Police also noted a dry spot approximately 3 feet wide and 6 feet long on the sidewalk. It had been raining at the time of the alleged attack.

“It appeared the dry spot on the sidewalk is the place where the sexual assault occurred,” Detective Jason Leavitt wrote in a report.

Both the woman and the man were taken to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, where they underwent testing as part of the Lewiston police investigation. During questioning, Baze allegedly told police that the woman wanted to have sex with him.

Baze also was arrested on a no-bond warrant for burglary from Latah County. His next appearance, for a probable cause hearing, is for Monday in Lewiston.