A 2022 rape case that police now believe was committed by Jose Luis Reyes-Martinez was shelved due to a lack of staffing.
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According to the Chronicle, citing two law enforcement sources, the victim provided police with the suspect's name, address, and license plate number and agreed to have physical evidence collected from her body. Despite that, police still stopped the investigation.
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Then, a year later, after police said Reyes-Martinez was seen on video robbing a Fiesta Mart in the Aldine area, they said he subsequently broke into a second woman's home, tied up her husband, and raped her.
"We do not believe this is his first time. We believe there are other crimes associated with him," an HPD investigator told ABC13 days after the brutal attack.
Court records also show federal investigators, not HPD, ended up linking the two cases by using the DNA that was collected from the first victim's body.
The Chronicle reports Reyes-Martinez is being called a suspect in that first rape but has not been charged with it.
He remains in custody.
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