Shoreline sex offender accused in rape near Arlington

ARLINGTON — A convicted rapist with a year-old pending sex charge is accused of attacking a local woman early this week.

The two met Sunday at a bar in Shoreline, according to the arrest report. Around closing time, he offered her a ride to her home in south Snohomish County.

She quickly realized they weren’t stopping at her house. She said she was raped by the suspect while another man drove and then parked outside a home in a rural area north of Arlington.

Jerry G. Wood, 40, of Shoreline, remains at the Snohomish County Jail on suspicion of first-degree rape and first-degree kidnapping. A judge set bail earlier this week at $1 million.

Wood was convicted in 2006 of rape and aggravated sexual abuse, records show. He is a Level 3 sex offender, the level deemed most likely to re-offend.

Wood was released from federal prison in December 2015. The next month, he was arrested in King County after he allegedly approached an undercover police officer and offered to become her pimp, according to a story in the Seattle PI. Wood was charged with promoting prostitution and has been out on bail pending trial.

A warrant was issued for his arrest in that case earlier this month, records show.

After the alleged attack Sunday, the victim, 43, went to the hospital in Everett, according to the police report. A nurse reported that she had bruising on her face and body.

The woman said the suspect wore a brown leather jacket with a fur collar. She said he took her underwear with him after the attack.

She said he had told her, “You’re mine now. I own you. I’ll find you wherever you go.”

Later that day, deputies went to the property near Arlington. The woman who lives there answered the door and reportedly said, “Are you all here about the rape?”

The woman said she was not home at the time of the attack but had seen the suspect leaving as she arrived. She reportedly helped the victim get out of the suspect’s car.

She said she recognized Wood because they had gone on a date once. He had become volatile and demanded sex, she said.

Court papers don’t explain why Wood allegedly went to the Arlington woman’s neighborhood.

Investigators went to Wood’s home in Shoreline on Monday. The license plate on his car apparently had been swapped with the plate of another vehicle nearby. Wood said the switch must have been an accident.

At first, he denied being in north Snohomish County over the weekend. He said a woman at the Shoreline bar had asked for a ride, and he said no. He said he later saw the same woman at a casino in Arlington. He denied any sexual contact.

While Wood was changing his clothes to go to jail, deputies reportedly saw a brown leather jacket with a fur collar in his room. They also saw two pairs of women’s underwear.

One pair allegedly matched the description of the victim’s missing underwear.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.

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