METRO POLICE
Antwon Perkins
Published Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 | 5:15 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 | 6:03 p.m.
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A suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl on her way to school Thursday morning told the victim he would shoot her and her parents if she told anyone what happened, according to Metro Police arrest documents.
Antwon Perkins, 35, was taken into custody Friday night after a standoff at a North Las Vegas apartment, police said. He faces counts of sex assault, kidnapping, lewdness, battery with intent to commit a crime, coercion and dissuading someone from reporting a crime, according to jail logs.
Investigators say Perkins is the same man wanted in a case from May, Metro Officer Laura Meltzer said Monday.
On May 23, an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a man, who’d picked her up near Twain Avenue and Swenson Street after “persistently” offering her a ride, police said at the time.
Once the victim got in a black BMW car, the suspect pulled out a gun, put a shirt over her head so she couldn’t see, and drove her to an unknown location where he sexually assaulted her, police said.
The suspect then dropped her off in the area where he abducted her, police said. Bystanders found the victim naked and called police. The girl was treated at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
Metro subsequently released a video of the suspect’s car and a composite sketch.
Perkins was merely identified as a suspect but hasn’t been charged in that case, said Meltzer, noting that that investigation was ongoing.
In the most recent case, the victim was walking near Farm and Cimarron roads about 8:50 a.m. Thursday when she encountered a black pickup truck parked on the wrong side of the street with its hood propped open, police said.
As she passed by, a man grabbed her by both her arms and pulled her into the truck, leaving bruises and scratches on her, police said. He forced her to sit on the passenger's side floorboard and covered her head with a jacket, police said.
For a little over two hours, the suspect drove the girl around, stopping at least twice to sexually assault her in the vehicle, police said.
The man told the victim he would kill her if she talked about the assault and forced her to give him her address, threatening to also kill her parents, police said.
He then dropped her off near where he abducted her, allowing her to put on her clothes and telling her to not look back, police said.
The girl ran to Cadwallader Middle School, where she reported what happened, police said. She was able to provide specific details about the attack and her attacker, police said.
Early Friday, a woman reported that Perkins had contacted her, saying Metro was after him and threatening to shoot himself in the head, police said.
That night, police tracked Perkins to North Las Vegas, where he had barricaded himself inside an apartment, police said. He suffered unspecified self-inflicted injuries before officers took him into custody, police said.
Perkins was an employee at McCarran International Airport, and detectives tracked down the truck to the property before learning of his whereabouts.
He was treated at University Medical Center and booked in absentia at the Clark County Detention Center, police said.
“This is a very brazen, violent crime,” said Lt. Dave Valenta after the arrest about the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault, noting an investigative theory that the child may have not been his first victim. “Most people do not start at this level. They progress and graduate to this level.”
Anyone with information on Perkins should call 911. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at crimestoppersofnv.com. Tips leading directly to an arrest or indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a cash reward.
