Police won't say why, but they believe Michael Carter has been posing as a cop and raping women for more than 20 years. The latest victim, they say, he kidnapped on Fulton at Quitman in north Houston.
Houston police say Michael Wayne Carter, 50, carried a police scanner and what appeared to be a badge. On August 9, they tell us he approached a 17-year-old girl in the parking lot of a Fiesta store on Quitman, telling her he was an undercover officer, ordering her into his white Suburban.
"She was convinced that he was a police officer because he appeared to be talking on a handheld radio," explained HPD Officer Christopher Weiche.
Police say Carter threatened to arrest the girl if she didn't comply. According to investigators, she did and he drove her to a car wash near Studewood and East 11th Street, parking his SUV in a vacant stall at a car wash there. Investigators say that's where he sexually assaulted the girl. Afterward, they tell us, he dropped her off at a bus stop not far away in the Heights.
DNA from tests done at the hospital matched Carter's DNA in law enforcement computers from a prior felony conviction. At his home near downtown, detectives found an SUV matching the victim's description and two police scanners.
"He listen to them," said Carter's son-in-law Michael Thomas. "He be having scanners for years. He always have scanners."
Carter's son-in-law tells us he has a hard time believing the allegations. He claims Carter wouldn't attack other women because it would be disrespectful to his wife.
Thomas said, "That's why I couldn't believe it. He a real good guy. He a good guy. He cool, man."
Police say Carter has only one eye. They released his picture hoping to find any other women who recognize him and might come forward alleging that he assaulted them too.
Police would not say if they've confirmed other victims yet or tell us why they believe the assaults date back 20 years.
Any other victims who recognize Michael Carter are urged to contact the HPD Special Crimes Division at 713-308-1180 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
