Dallas police arrest accused sexual predator targeting women

An accused sexual predator is off the streets after Dallas police conducted a widespread search Thursday afternoon.

A woman says she saw him performing lewd acts and alerted an officer. The suspect then ran off and came into contact with a second woman.

Several Dallas police officers arrest a man accused of targeting and assaulting women at the Rosemont at Mission Trails apartment complex on East Camp Wisdom Road in southeast Oak Cliff.

Amber Richardson says she was one of the first women he confronted.

"I just covered my face with my mail and said, ‘Oh my God. Not today. Not in public,’” she recalled. “I hope this man has some kind of sense."

Richardson says when she went to get her mail when she saw the man that was looking at her had his pants down and was performing lewd acts. She says he kept trying to tell her to go around the corner with him.

When an officer drove by, Richardson says the man took off. She told the officer what happened. A few minutes later, another woman says the man was more aggressive towards her.

"He pushed me and made me injure my back,” the woman said, who asked that her face not be shown. “He made the excuse to use my restroom. But when I called out for my mom, he started panicking and going back and forth. I eventually pushed him out of the door and he took off running."

Police searched by helicopter and eventually found the man in a wooded area, dressed only in his boxers.

The incident happened just a few miles away from the Dollar General Store where Gabrielle Simmons, a mother of 6, was murdered last week. Police arrested a 15-year-old boy they say shot her during a robbery.

Since then, Dallas police have stepped patrols in Southeast Oak Cliff. They’ve made dozens of arrests in an effort to crack down on increased crime.

The suspect’s name has not been released.