Bloomington police arrest man for burglary and rape
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) – Bloomington Police have arrested a man in connection with a burglary and rape.
Devin Grounds was arrested and faces preliminary charges of rape, burglary and theft. He was also wanted for leaving the scene of an accident in an unrelated case.
Police say a woman living in the 2000 block of North Walnut Street woke up to a man in her room on Sept. 5.
She said he threatened to kill her then raped her.
According to the release, he left after the rape and took her cell phone.
Police found DNA evidence at the crime scene that linked them to Grounds.
Grounds was arrested early Thursday morning. He said was in the area on the night of the attack but couldn’t remember anything about what happened because of drugs and alcohol.
Kately Barron lives at Knights Landing apartments, where the crime happened. She said her stomach dropped when she first heard the story, worrying that it could happen to her. We showed her Grounds mugshot. “Looking at this face it’s just like terrifying, what that man did to this girl,” she said.
Ever since news of the rape came out, Barron and other residents made sure to be extra cautious. “W lock our door whenever we leave to go take out the trash,” she said. “I know me and my roommate are kind of afraid to leave the house at night, go anywhere alone at night.”
Some neighbors even carry protection with them to feel safe. “My dad bought me mace so now it hooked onto my key chain at all times,” said Tayler Fitts. “I always make sure I’m talking to somebody on the phone when I come home late at night.”
She hasn’t had to use it but plans to keep it at her side. Police didn’t say why Grounds was at the apartment, but neighbors are just glad he’s in jail.
“A lot of times things like this get reported but nothing ever comes out of them so I thinks its great the police really worked hard to find out who was doing such terrible things,” said Fitts.
“It’s good to know that the cops actually followed through on this case in particular, that the man was arrested,” added Barron.
Police say investigations are still ongoing into the incidents on Sept. 5 and 8 where an unknown male entered unlocked homes in Bloomington.
