Houston Police Charge 19-Year-Old in 2-Count Sexual Assault After Bayou Attack

Q: How did a police drone and home surveillance video track down the White Oak Bayou attacker?

Investigators tracked down the White Oak Bayou attacker by combining aerial crime-scene work with neighborhood video evidence. Deputies flew a drone over the bayou and located signs of the struggle, including claw marks in the mud and grass. From that area, they found fresh bicycle tracks leading away from the scene toward a nearby residential street. Once in the neighborhood, investigators reviewed home surveillance footage. The video showed a man on a bicycle whose appearance matched the victim’s description of her attacker. That gave deputies a direction of travel and a suspect image to work from as they canvassed the area. The search then tightened after reports that a man on a bicycle had approached another woman nearby and fled when her husband appeared. Deputies later found and arrested 19-year-old Jacoby Isiah Fuselier after a brief chase and struggle. Authorities said he was carrying the bayou victim’s cellphone when taken into custody, strengthening the case linking him to the attack.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 15

Jacoby Isiah Fuselier, 19, was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated sexual assault after authorities said he attacked a woman on White Oak Bayou and tried to drown her during her evening exercise.
6:30 p.m. Monday, the woman fought him off by gouging his eyes and pulling out clumps of hair, then reached deputy constables and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Drone footage found claw marks in mud and grass at the bayou, and deputies followed fresh bike tracks to a neighborhood where surveillance video showed a bicyclist matching the suspect's description.
That search also uncovered a second encounter: authorities said Fuselier approached another woman but fled when her husband appeared, and he was later arrested after a brief chase and struggle.
Police said Fuselier was first booked Tuesday on evading-arrest charges; he was later found with the bayou victim's cellphone, and the sexual-assault counts were added Wednesday.