[smurfalicious]

4th teen charged in attack at Dunbar

Friday, August 17, 2007



WEST PALM BEACH — A fourth suspect was charged Thursday in connection with the Dunbar Village rape - a brutal attack that shattered the nerves of local residents and gained national attention.

A grand jury indicted Tommy L. Poindexter, 18, on charges of armed sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, burglary with assault or battery, and kidnapping. Prosecutors said they linked him to the crime through DNA evidence.

Poindexter has denied any involvement in the June 18 gang rape of a 35-year-old woman and assault of her 12-year-old son. His last address given to police was in Riviera Beach, but investigators aren't sure if he had a permanent home, West Palm Beach police spokesman Peter Robbins said.

The charges came eight days after Poindexter was taken into custody by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Tactical Unit for several outstanding felony warrants not related to the Dunbar case.

So far, Poindexter is the oldest defendant charged in the case.

Investigators said up to 10 young men raped the woman, assaulted her son and forced the mother and son to have sex with each other in their home. The attackers then poured cleaning agents on both and stole the woman's car and cellphone, forcing her to walk a mile to Good Samaritan Medical Center, authorities said.

Avion Lawson, 14, Nathan Walker, 16, and Jakaris Taylor, 15, were indicted July 18 on the same charges as Poindexter. All will be tried as adults. Each of the sexual battery counts carries a life sentence.

It is unclear how Poindexter knew the other defendants.

The tactical unit arrested Poindexter on Aug. 8 after he ran from officers in the 600 block of 36th Street in Lake Park, according to a sheriff's report. The unit had been requested to help find Poindexter because investigators wanted to question him about the Dunbar case.

Poindexter, authorities said, had six small bags of marijuana in a pants pocket and was charged with possession with intent to sell. Shortly after his arrest, West Palm Beach police took over the case and served a warrant to collect his DNA, the sheriff's report said.

Police have found DNA and fingerprints at the crime scene, Robbins said.

Poindexter has been in trouble with the law since he was 14, records show. He has been arrested five times for charges including violation of probation, vehicle theft and burglary.

A man who answered the phone at a West Palm Beach address listed under the name of Poindexter's father identified himself as the family attorney. He said the family was aware of the charges.

Since the attack, life has changed at the barren public housing complex built in 1940.

The woman and her son have moved. Housing authority executives are considering remaking the barracks-style complex, which was rejected for federal grant money in 2004. Armed security guards now patrol the area.

Police are searching for more suspects, Robbins said: "We still have a lot of arrests we're hoping to make."