Las Vegas police need help identifying sexual assault suspect

A police sketch of a man in his forties or fifties who's a suspect in two sexual assaults in May and August. (Metropolitan Police Department)

The car of a suspect in two sexual assaults in May and August. The man, in his forties or fifties, is suspected or assaulting a woman at gunpoint in his car near downtown Las Vegas on August 26, 2018. (Metropolitan Police Department)

Las Vegas police are asking for help identifying a man suspected of two sexual assaults in August and May.

Around 4 a.m. on Aug 26, a woman walking near downtown Las Vegas at South Casino Center Boulevard and East Oakey Boulevard, near South Las Vegas Boulevard, was approached by a man driving a black sedan, police said. The man, in his 40s or 50s, said something the woman couldn’t hear, and when she approached the sedan he ordered her into the car while holding a handgun.

The man drove to a neighborhood near West Oakey Boulevard and Ivanhoe Way where he sexually assaulted the woman at gunpoint, police said. He then punched the woman and shoved her out of the car.

The woman ran from the scene and reported the incident to a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper she found.

The man was described as having a medium to heavy build with short, salt-and-pepper hair. He may have a full beard or facial hair with razor bumps, police said. The victim said the man had a heavy Spanish accent and was driving a newer black Kia four-door sedan with tinted windows, according to police.

A similar sexual assault was reported in May, and police believe the two assaults are related.

Police asked anyone with information about the assault, or the identity or whereabouts of the suspect, to call Metro’s sex crimes section at 702-828-3421. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.