Montgomery County Police are investigating a robbery that escalated into a sexual assault near the border of Chevy Chase and Silver Spring.
Capt. James Humphries, the commander of the Special Victims Investigation Division, said Wednesday the incident happened around 11:30 p.m. Nov. 30 in the 2400 block of East West Highway after a woman exited a bus near the intersection with Grubb Road. As she was heading to her home, a man approached her and grabbed her purse in an attempt to steal it. A struggle ensued and the woman was thrown to the ground and sexually assaulted. The man fled when the woman screamed, Humphries said.
Humphries described the incident as an isolated event and said he has not seen any similar reports in the area since March 2014—when he was first assigned to the area—or in the weeks after it was reported.
He said the woman involved was not able to give police enough details bout the suspect to create a composite sketch, but said the suspect was described as a black male, about 25 years old, who was wearing a black nylon type coat and a black winter hat. He said the man was not riding the bus before the incident happened.
Area of the incident:
