Irving jogger speaks out after attack suspect's arrest
IRVING, Texas - Irving police say a woman sharing her story was crucial in finding the man who t police say attacked her while she was out jogging.
Brandon Lee Williams, 25, is now charged with attempting to commit sexual assault.
Brandon Lee Williams (Source: Irving Police)
On the afternoon of March 11th, Nicole Fugate told FOX 4 she was out for a run when a man came up from behind, threw her on the ground and tried to sexually assault her.
Fugate spoke to FOX 4 shortly after the incident.
"I was walking on this sidewalk here along the wall, the suspect pulled up, parked his car on the corner," she said at the time.
She was able to fight him off.
"Halfway through I had a moment of like ‘Nicole, you have to fight. This man is about to do something terrible to you, if you don’t, you don’t fight this is about to happen to you,’" Fugate said.
After he ran away, she gave police a description of the suspect, including the silver PT Cruiser he was driving.
Fast forward to April 26th, Fugate finally got the call she'd been waiting for: police caught the man who attacked her.
"It was shocking, whenever he told me, it was... I didn’t have words, I was speechless for a little while," she said. "We had kind of given up hope, I hate to say that, but there wasn’t a lot of evidence, I didn’t pick him up out of a lineup."
Irving police say they received an anonymous tip on April 19th to look at Williams as the suspect for the attempted sexual assault on Cowboys Parkway near Touchdown Drive.
Officers arrested Williams on an unrelated warrant out of Denton County for evading arrest with a vehicle.
During the interview with investigators, Williams confessed to the crime and shared details that weren't released to the public.
"Yes, in that interview he shared enough details for them to feel they had probable cause to make that case," said Officer Anthony Alexander of Irving Police.
According to the arrest warrant documents, Williams revealed he planned to have sexual intercourse with the victim.
He told investigators he never spoke during the attack and didn't know Fugate before this.
"Just when I see his picture, it’s very upsetting still to see his face again," said Fugate.
She says she feels it was important to share her story.
"Protecting other women from it happening in the future now. His face is out there and everybody knows," said Fugate.
Police say Fugate sharing her story and getting the suspect's details out to the public helped solve the case.
"It’s never going to make it better, it’s never gonna make it okay, but at least we know this person hopefully can’t victimize anyone in the future," said Officer Alexander.
Fugate is an avid runner, but she still doesn't feel safe running alone.
She's considering starting a women's run group to have strength in numbers.
"That’s all I can do, is try to make a positive move from all this. Not go backwards," Fugate said.
Williams is currently being held here at the Dallas County Jail.
He's charged with attempt to commit sexual assault and evading arrest with a vehicle.
His bond is set at $20,000.