A man kidnapped a Las Vegas mother while she was walking home from the grocery store and sexually assaulted her for hours inside his work van, according to police.
Martin Guerra, who last week was charged with first-degree kidnapping, battery and sexual assault, is accused of exposing himself outside a Smith’s in the southwest valley, approaching a woman who walked by and then throwing her into the back of his van, where he beat and raped her.
In a Friday press release, the Metropolitan Police Department said Guerra may have additional victims and urged the public to come forward with any additional information.
The attack happened around 11:30 p.m. on April 24 and lasted through the early morning of April 25, according to an arrest report for Guerra, 39.
The woman, a mother of two, scratched at Guerra’s face and eyes, Metro said. Guerra punched the woman in the face multiple times, causing her to lose consciousness, police said.
When she awoke, Guerra was forcing himself on her, police said in his arrest report. After about four hours, Guerra told the woman that he was tired and offered to take her home, the report said.
The woman’s husband, who was at work when she left for the grocery store, returned home around 12:30 a.m. to find that she was missing, police said. He searched for her for several hours before waiting at their apartment for her to return, he told detectives in the report.
When the woman arrived, her husband and son saw that she had a swollen eye, bruising, and marks on her neck consistent with strangulation, police said. Medical personnel also documented abrasions on her back and signs of penetrative injuries, police said.
Police used video surveillance footage from the Smith’s grocery store, at 6130 West Tropicana Avenue near South Jones Boulevard, to identify Guerra, who had also made a purchase at the store right before the assault, according to the report. From the footage, Metro also pulled photos of the vehicle, a white 2018 Nissan NV 200 work van, and its license plate, and traced it to Guerra’s home.
During his interview with the police, Guerra said he had been driving the van while his car was undergoing repairs, police said. Detectives asked about the assault, but Guerra denied involvement.
“Martin replied, ‘I do not know, brother. I was at home. I don’t know nothing. I have a girlfriend, she’s very attractive, so I don’t really need to be doing all that craziness, just to be honest,’” the report said.
Guerra was arrested on April 25. His roommate, also questioned by police, said that he was not surprised to hear allegations that Guerra had kidnapped and assaulted a woman, calling him a “sex animal.”
Court records indicate that Guerra is in custody and is being held on $250,000 bail.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
