Police on Thursday arrested a man they say is responsible for a string of sexual assaults that terrorized the Myers Park community in the 1990s.
Gilbert McNair, 54, was linked by DNA to four cases, police said. He was charged with four counts of 1st degree burglary, three counts of 1st degree sexual assault and one count of attempted 1st degree sexual assault. Police say he may be connected to other sexual assaults.
Beginning in June 1990, a man dubbed the “Myers Park Rapist” terrorized the upscale community south of uptown. The attacks ended in May 1997 and remained unsolved.
Police say at least eight cases fit the profile of the Myers Park rapist.
In each instance, police said, the rapist broke into his victims’ homes while they were asleep. They ranged in age from 21 to 28. Police said the rapist did not know any of his victims.
At a south Charlotte meeting Thursday night where he discussed crime, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe received applause when the announced the arrest.
Monroe said the cases were resolve after McNair was picked up in July on burglary charges. While in custody, an officer asked him to volunteer a DNA sample, Monroe said. McNair agree, according to Monroe.
NcNair was arrested in the 800 block of Woodside Avenue, near Plaza Road, while riding a bicycle. He was being held late Thursday in the Mecklenburg County jail.
