DNA evidence leads to suspect in 2013 assault of Lacey barista

A Thurston County man has been arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the 2013 sexual assault of a local barista.

Curtis M. Sword, 37, faces 10 felony charges in connection with the attack. He was arrested Aug. 7 at the Monroe Correctional Facility, where he was serving time on unrelated charges, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

Sword was scheduled to appear Tuesday for a Thurston County Superior Court preliminary hearing.

Court documents give the following account:

On April 19, 2013, the victim went to let out her dog, but when she opened the sliding glass door, a man forced his way into her home in the 8200 block of Union Mills Road Southeast. The man was dressed in black jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt with a red handkerchief over his face.

The man held a serrated knife to the 23-year-old victim’s neck and demanded that she comply with his instructions. He sexually assaulted her multiple times and took photos with a mobile phone during the attack.

The man later tied the victim’s hands with a ribbon and tied her feet with an electrical cord, then drove away with the victim’s car, money and phone. After hearing the car drive away, the victim escaped the home and sought help from a neighbor.

Deputies found the victim’s abandoned car two days later in Lacey. DNA evidence from the sexual assault exam proved inconclusive, but a DNA sample in the car was linked to Sword, who matched the description given by the victim.

In August 2014, detectives retrieved a DNA sample from Sword, who was incarcerated for unrelated crimes, including motor vehicle theft. The victim was able to identify Sword from a photo lineup.

The victim told deputies that she recognized Sword as a past customer who had “creeped her out” at the bikini barista coffee stand in Lacey where she worked. She recognized him as the same man who had once had his car break down in front of her house. The man asked for water for his radiator, then returned to the door with a rose and asked for the victim’s phone number. The victim declined to give her number and called police because she was concerned someone was following her.

Detectives later confirmed that Sword worked at a Lacey septic and plumbing business located about a mile from the coffee stand where the victim worked. Employees told detectives that Sword seemed obsessed with the coffee stand and would talk about the women who worked there.

Sword now faces the following charges related to the 2013 assault: three counts of first-degree rape while armed with a deadly weapon, one count of attempted first-degree rape while armed with a deadly weapon, first-degree robbery while armed with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary while armed with a deadly weapon, theft of a motor vehicle, unlawful imprisonment while armed with a deadly weapon, felony harassment while armed with a deadly weapon, second-degree theft while armed with a deadly weapon.

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 10:18 AM with the headline "DNA evidence leads to suspect in 2013 assault of Lacey barista."